Game Over
by Tr1pl3 V0cal01ds
Summary: It was bad enough that none of them knew where they were. But, things only seemed to get worse after Neru got that message and one of them disappeared. Now they know that this is one game you really don't want to play, because if you lose, it's game over for you. And yet, only one can win.
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

**Chapter 1: Awakening**

"God, what the hell happened to my head?" Len thought. He was lying down somewhere with his eyes closed, suffering from a headache that didn't seem inclined to let up. The next thing he became aware of was the cold floor. "Where the hell am I?" he thought, panic creeping up on him. His eyes snapped open. Hanging over him was a dark, endless pit rather than the ceiling he was expecting. He frowned, beginning to feel more and more puzzled. A male laughter rang in his ears as he turned his head towards the sound.

"Kaito? Is that you?" he asked in a raspy voice. Kaito turned to look at him as he tried to sit up.

"Len! My man! You're awake!" he said, visibly happy.

"What's going on he/" "Gakupo!" Kaito yelled, cutting Len off, "Len's awake!"

"Really?" a distant voice, probably Gakupo's, answered.

Looking around, Len noticed the others. It seemed like they were all there. Miku, Meiko, Luka, Lily, Ia, Miki, Gumi, Teto, Ted, SeeU, Neru, and Haku were all sitting around on crates, talking and laughing. There were no lights anywhere, yet the place was flooded with some kind of weird blue-green shine. None of it made any sense. Then a horrible thought came to him. Fear gripping his heart, he stood up abruptly.

"Len, are you okay?" Kaito asked, his overgrown smile fading immediately. Len ignored him and continued frantically looking around.

"Len! Len! Tell me what's wrong!" Kaito insisted. Len pretended not to hear.

"LEN!" Kaito yelled, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look into his face. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Where's my sister, Kaito?" Len asked in a slow, threatening voice.

"Your sister?" Kaito echoed, "I… I don't know. I… haven't seen her… maybe you should…"

"Where is she? WHERE IS SHE, KAITO?"

"Calm down Len," someone behind him said. "She's over there." Len whipped around and came face to face with Gakupo. Slowly, Len shifted his gaze to the area Gakupo was showing him. There he saw Rin's figure lying down motionlessly. Ignoring Gakupo's mocking laughter, he ran to her. Dropping to his knees beside her, he cradled her body against his.

"Rin. Rin, wake up," he said quietly.

"Len? Is that you?" Rin whispered. He sighed in relief and smiled down at her.

"Yeah, it's me." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tightened his grip on her waist as she rested her chin against his shoulder.

.

.

.

"Do you think Len likes her?" Lily asked.

"Likes who?" Miku replied absently.

"Rin. I mean, I get that he's worried and all because she's his sister. But, sometimes, it just seems like it's too much."

"Uh, huh." Lily glanced at Miku. She was staring at Kaito with a dreamy look on her face.

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked angrily.

"Uh huh," Miku replied although she clearly wasn't. Lily sighed and walked away, deciding she had better take her comments to someone who wasn't so obsessed with Kaito. Miku continued to stare without even noticing Meiko until she snorted.

"Staring at the man you'll never have, Miku?" Meiko said sarcastically. Miku threw her a death glare, but didn't reply.

"Leave her alone, Meiko," Luka said.

"Easy for you to say," she replied. "You have Gakupo all to yourself."

"Gakupo is a pervert and I don't want him," Luka answered dryly. Meiko rolled her eyes but let it go.

"So, did Gakupo and Kaito figure out where we are yet?" Meiko asked seriously. Luka sighed.

"No, they haven't. Kaito went to go look around."

"What about all the weapons?" Meiko asked again, frowning at her feet. Luka shook her head.

"Don't know. Looks like we'll just have to wait."

.

.

.

Len was looking at the floor biting his lip.

"Everyone just woke up and found themselves here?" he asked.

Gakupo nodded. "I don't know what happened. But, what worries me are these weapons. Maybe Kaito will figure something out."

Len's head snapped up and he glared at Gakupo. "You sent Kaito away? All by himself?"

"Well, yeah… What's…? Why are you… mad?" he stammered, confused by Len's anger.

"Because you sent Kaito out alone while we have no idea what's going on!" Len yelled. A sharp squeak sounded behind them, cutting their argument off. They turned around to see Neru standing up and staring at her beloved cell phone with horror struck eyes. Gakupo and Len glanced at each other before walking to her.

"Neru, are you alright?" Gakupo asked. She shook her head and speechlessly handed them her phone, something she never did. Len, growing more and more worried, read the message that was written, his heart skipping a beat as he connected the dots.

_Welcome to the Game, my friends! It has already begun. Prepare yourself and never hesitate to strike down your friends, because in the end, only one of you can win._


	2. Chapter 2: Separation

_Hey! This is 'Len'. I wrote another chapter. 'Rin' and 'Neru' tell me this one is more interesting. I think so too. I like it when people talk to me, so leave me a review even if it doesn't really have anything to do with the story X3_

**Chapter 2: Separation**

"Kaito!" Gakupo yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth. He sighed, beginning to feel more and more hopeless after every call. After receiving the message, Gakupo and Len had arranged four groups to search for Kaito. They had decided that it would be safer if everyone was equipped with some kind of weapon to defend themselves. After that, each group had split up and went down one of the four dark hallways that lead out of the main room full of crates to search for their missing friend.

"Do you think we'll find him?" Luka's voice said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I don't know," he answered without looking at her.

"Gakupo," Luka said, her voice trembling slightly. "What do you think is happening?" He thought about this. The only reasonable thing he could come up with was some kind of sick joke.

"I don't know," he answered instead. An ear-wrenching, male screech then sounded. Gakupo and Luka glanced at each other with wide eyes as Neru and Haku looked to where the sound came from.

.

.

.

The second Len heard the shriek, he bolted, leaving Rin, Teto and Ted behind. Running as fast as he could, he knew the others wouldn't be able to keep up, but all he cared about was finding Kaito. He ran down the long, seemingly endless hallway from where he'd hear the noise and stopped short when a heavy-looking, steel door came out from the darkness.

_That's strange,_ he thought. The door didn't match the futuristic glow of the hallway at all. For a few seconds, he debated on whether he should go in or wait for the others. _Kaito could be dying in there,_ he remembered, grabbing the handle and pulling as hard as he could. The door swung open easily. _What the hell?_ Len thought, puzzled. _What's a living room doing here?_

.

.

.

"I don't know where he went," Teto told Gakupo. "I heard the scream, but I think he was already gone… I'm not sure though."

Rin was pacing near the wall, feeling sick with worry for her brother. She looked at Gakupo, hoping he would decide to go now so she could follow him.

"We'll wait here for the others," Gakupo declared. Exasperated, Rin walked over to Gakupo.

"Why can't we just go now? If we aren't here, they're obviously gonna know we went further down the hallway!" she yelled angrily.

"I'm not taking chances," Gakupo argued stubbornly. Rin glared at him. She wanted to leave by herself, but she knew it was stupid and she didn't want to see Len's reaction if he ever learned she went off alone.

.

.

.

_Shit,_ Meiko thought. _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. _She was practically ripping her hair out of her head. After hearing the scream, she had quickly ordered everyone to turn around and head towards the hallway the sound had come from. Lily and Gumi followed her, and although they were moving fast, Meiko still thought it was too slow. "He's alive," she continuously repeated in a whisper. "He's alive."

.

.

.

Miku wasn't a very good leader. She knew that, so when they heard Kaito's screech, she voluntarily gave the commands of the group to SeeU. SeeU had decided it would be best to turn back and meet up with the others. Miku, Ia and Miki agreed and soon enough, they were back-tracking down the hallway.

.

.

.

Luka was angry with Gakupo. First, he had let Kaito go off on his own and then he let Len, who was reckless sometimes, disappear as well. In reality, she knew it wasn't really his fault, but she needed someone to blame. Every few seconds, she would glance at the entrance of the hallway to see if Meiko's or Miku's group had arrived. Although she had waited only a few minutes, it seemed like an eternity before they finally appeared.

"Gakupo!" she yelled in Gakupo's direction. "They're here! Let's go!" Gakupo looked over and spotted the others. He nodded and everyone started down the hallway.

.

.

.

When Len opened the door, he had been very surprised. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it definitely hadn't been a living room. Cautiously, he entered the poorly lit place. He heard a faint noise and realized that it was coming from a small TV resting on a low shelf. The TV was showing some old black and white show he didn't know about. A quiet moan drew his attention to the center of the room, right in front of the brown leather couch. There, a crumpled figure covered in blood was clearly dying. Len knew the person was dying just as well as he knew it was Kaito because a least twenty small, sharp knives were stuck everywhere on his body. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't leave Kaito alone during his last few moments. Trying his best not to feel afraid, he slowly kneeled beside his friend. Kaito turned to look at him, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Len?" he said in a barely audible whisper. Although he felt like crying, Len forced himself to smile.

"What's up man?" he said quietly. Kaito tried to laugh, but instead, he just ended up spitting blood onto Len's sleeve. Len took his hand and squeezed it.

"It hurts… so goddamn much," Kaito said with great difficulty. Len bit back his tears.

"It's almost over," he said, his voice shaking.

"Yeah," Kaito said, shutting his eyes for good. His heart beat once and went still, never to move again.

.

.

.

Gakupo, Meiko and Miku in the lead, the small group rushed down the hall. Without hesitation, Meiko passed through the big, metal door. She stopped, momentarily confused by the random living room. Her eyes then slipped to the floor where Kaito was lying. She dropped to her knees, unable to say anything. A heart-wrenching sob came from the door as Miku turned around and exited the room. Gakupo's eyes fell to the floor and he immediately turned aaway. Reading the sorrow on his face, Ia knew what was in the room. Barely holding back her tears, she turned to the others behind her. Luka walked passed Gakupo, who was leaning against the door frame to hold himself up, and, doing her best not to look at the bloody mess that was Kaito, forced Meiko out of the room.

"Len?!" Rin shrieked. She ran inside the room and caught a glimpse of Kaito's body before Len forced her back out through the door. He sat her down in the corner of the hallway and then turned to face Gakupo. His face streaked with tears and his voice tense and strained, he gave the final verdict:

"He's dead."

.

.

.

A dark cloud was hanging over the group. They walked back down the hall, leaving Kaito's body behind. Once they arrived in the main room, no one said anything. One by one, they fell asleep, glad to escape the horrors of the day. Rin's head leaning against his lap, Len watched her sleep, hoping her angelic face would erase the image of Kaito's pain that was etched into his brain.

.

.

.

Gakupo had decided that they needed to go. Staying where they were wouldn't do them any good, so they needed to keep moving. Sorrow still weighing heavy on the group, they prepared to leave, packing more weapons and some food. They also brought containers obviously meant for water, but oddly enough, they were empty. Luka had flipped a coin to decide which of the two hallways they would go down. They hadn't considered going back to where Kaito had been found to see if the living room lead anywhere, but no one mentioned it. Meiko's group had reached a dead-end in their hallway. That left Miku's group and Gakupo's. Gakupo in the lead they started down Miku's hallway, but then came to a stop. Gakupo turned around and walked over to where Len and his sister were standing, right at the very back of the group.

"Len can't come with us," Gakupo declared resentfully.

"What?" Rin shrieked, recovering her senses faster than Len. "Why not?"

"Because he killed Kaito!" Gakupo yelled angrily.

"You think I killed Kaito?" Len said in a threatening voice.

"You were the first one there," Gakupo replied.

"What the fuck!" Len yelled. "In case you didn't know, I left after I heard the scream. He was already pretty much dead when I got there!"

"Teto said you were gone before he screamed."

"I said I wasn't sure…" Teto added in a small voice. Gakupo ignored this and continued his accusation.

"Kaito didn't stab himself to death, which means someone else did it. And you're the only who had time."

"Maybe it was someone else," Len added desperately. He knew what it looked like. He understood why Gakupo would think he did it.

"There's no one else here, Len," Gakupo replied, glaring at Len.

"Why would I want to kill Kaito? He was my friend!"

"Because of the message," Gakupo answered simply.

"What?" Len asked, confused.

Gakupo sighed. "The message on Neru's phone. Only one of us can win. Whoever sent that wanted to scare us. Clearly it worked."

"What does that ha/" "Don't try telling me you wouldn't kill to protect your sister?" Gakupo said with a mocking grin.

Now Len understood. Gakupo thought he killed Kaito to give his sister a better chance at winning this so-called 'game' they were playing. Len looked at the rest of the group. Everyone's face was marked with uncertainty, but he could feel them turning against him. He sighed. He knew when he was beat. Grabbing the front of Gakupo's shirt, he pulled his face in close.

"Fine. I won't follow you. But," he threatened, "if anything happens to Rin, I swear I'll kill you." With that, he pushed Gakupo away and turned around, heading towards a different hallway.


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness

_Hello! I'm really sorry that it takes so long for each chapter. I'm just a reallllllllly slow writer :3 I promise to try to be faster. 'Rin' is going to kill me if I don't hurry anyway ;) So anyway, don't forget to leave me a review! I want to hear from you X3_

**Chapter 3: Darkness**

Although Len had hidden it from the others, Gakupo's accusation had hurt him. He felt betrayed, and yet he understood. Deep within his thoughts, he didn't notice that someone was following him until Rin called out his name.

"Len! Len, wait!" she called, racing towards him.

Len whipped around. For a moment, he hesitated between feeling happy and angry. Finally, he decided anger was a more appropriate response.

"What are you doing?" he asked, frowning angrily.

"I couldn't leave you," she answered, her lips forming a tight line.

"Go," he ordered loudly. He saw her flinch and felt bad for being so harsh, but he knew it was for the best. Recovering quickly, Rin glared at him.

"No," she said stubbornly. "You can keep walking or even try running away, but I'll follow you whether you like it or not." She crossed her arms and threw him a challenging look. Len continued glaring, but knew, by the stubborn look on her face, that any effort to convince her to go back was wasted.

"Fine," he said, still feeling a little bit angry. She started walking and he followed her down the long hallway that stretched before them.

.

.

.

Rin and Len had been walking for hours, but still, the hallway stretched further down into the darkness. Len was beginning to wonder if the hallway ever ended. Behind them, there was nothing but shadow. They had the same problem in front. The eerie greenish light that shone illuminated only the area where they stood. As they walked, the light followed them in such a way that they could never reach the blackness in front or behind them. Knowing there was nothing he could do, Len continued walking forwards, sharing a worried glance with his sister every now and then. They walked in silence until Rin decided to try easing the mood.

"So, who do you think killed Kaito?" she asked, realizing too late how horrible her question was. She immediately regretted asking it. Kaito was one of Len's closest friends, and he'd been blamed for his death. She was sure he didn't want to talk about it.

"What makes you think I didn't do it?" he answered to her surprise.

"Because you don't kill your friends. Or anybody else. Even for me," she declared like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't know who killed him," he said without looking at her. "But you're wrong. I would kill to protect you."

Rin was baffled. She had always known that her brother loved her, but she'd always wondered if maybe it went beyond brotherly love. Her mind told her it was impossible because they were twins, but her heart couldn't help but hope he shared the same idea. She knew it was wrong to feel that way for her brother, and yet she craved for him more than anything else. She logically knew Len would be disgusted, but a part of her still foolishly believed that maybe he felt the same way. Now, she was confused by that irrational part of herself that moulded his sentence to fit her own desires. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Len until he jerked her backwards.

"Rin! Watch out!" he yelled, trying to pull her backwards.

Snapping back to reality, she took a step back, which seemed to calm him. She proceeded to staring at him with a confused expression as he moved to stand beside her. He reached out towards the darkness and seemed to be clawing at the air in front of him. Perplexed, she looked at him wide-eyed as he frowned at the shadow.

"Len, what are you doing?" she asked, very clearly confused.

"Look at the shadow. When we were walking, it kept backing away with the light, so we couldn't reach it. We're standing right at the edge of it now."

Rin looked down at her feet. Surely enough, she was only inches away from the darkness. "Well, should we go back?" Rin suggested, unsure.

Len shook his head. "No. You stay here. I'll go check it out."

Before she could reply, he was already starting in the shadow, his back against the wall so he wouldn't get lost. Within seconds, he disappeared completely from her sight. Sighing, she sat down and stared, waiting for him to come back. Minutes ticked away and still, he didn't return. Rin began feeling more and more anxious. Finally, she decided to follow him. She moved into the darkness, making sure one hand was firmly planted against the wall at all times. The green shine disappeared behind her and Rin was momentarily stunned by the lack of visibility. She waited for her eyes to adjust, but it was too dark and they never did. Her nerves on edge, she continued forward slowly. After a few minutes, panic began settling. The pitch-black air seemed to creep up on her as she fought the urge to scream. She started walking faster and eventually broke out into a run. She slowed to a stop when a strange whirring sound began on her right, away from the wall. Listening carefully, Rin wondered what it could be. A small, flashing red dot then cut through the darkness in the same direction.

"Len, is that you?" she whispered.

Even before asking the question, she had known it wasn't Len. Curiosity out-weighing her fear and panic, Rin moved towards the small dot of light. But, when she realized her mistake, it was already too late; her hand had come off the wall. She whipped around and reached out for the vertical surface, not wanting to get lost, but instead, her hands met only the air. Panicking, she took a step forward, waving her hands frantically in search of the wall when something grabbed her from behind. A blood-curdling scream ripped through her throat as she was dragged backwards.

.

.

.

"I cannot _believe_ you would do something like that!" Luka raged. Never before in her life had she felt so angry. Normally, she was extremely good at containing her emotions, but this time was different.

"I did it to protect us Luka! I know it's within your capacity to understand that!" Gakupo yelled back, looking just as angry as Luka.

"You sent two _kids_ away to fend for themselves based on _doubt_! You want me to try and _understand _that?" she shrieked, her voice raising an octave at the end.

She knew he was right. Len and whoever sent the message to Neru's phone were the only two possibilities for Kaito's murderer. Sending Len away was necessary to make sure no one else met the same fate as Kaito. Gakupo had made the hard decision the others, including herself, didn't have the guts to do. Still, Luka didn't want to accept that there wasn't anything she could do for Len. Or Rin.

"I just… He… They could die… And I… there's nothing… I wish… I could help," she said, her anger turning into sadness. Gakupo's eyes softened.

"I'm worried too, Luka. I'm not happy with what's happened either, but it had to be done."

She nodded, her heart throbbing. Gakupo squeezed her hand and she stared into his face, finding a strange peacefulness that eased her pain trapped in his purple eyes.

"Gakupo!" Neru called, her eyes betraying the fear she was trying to hide.

Gakupo turned around and rushed towards Neru, Luka hot on his heels. Neru speechlessly handed them her phone once more and Gakupo quickly scanned the writing displayed on the tiny screen. His eyes full of worry, he gave the phone to Luka.

"What does it say?" she asked as she took it out of his hands.

"I'm not sure," he answered, shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense."

Luka read the message; _Sometimes, the noticeable people go unnoticed._ Gakupo was right; the message was very strange. Luka studied every word intently, trying to pierce secret behind the strange line. "Noticeable people," she thought. Then, she understood. Her head snapped up from the phone as she looked around.

"What is it Luka?" Gakupo asked carefully, knowing she understood the message. She turned and looked at him with horror-struck eyes, her face distraught.

"Where did Lily go?" she asked. She saw the realisation strike him as he scanned the group.


	4. Chapter 4: Fear

_Here's another chapter! Hopefully, you enjoy it. Don't forget to leave a review so I can hear from you and improve my writing. Now, since you probably just want to read the god damn story, I will stop speaking X3_

**Chapter 4:**

The room was badly lit by a small, weak nightlight placed in the corner of the room. It was too dark, and Lily couldn't see much. Her mind was hazy and she was desperately searching for her memories. Short fragments of her life flashed in quick succession in her head as the fog clouding her mind slowly dissipated. She remembered a room full of crates, and the faces of her friends. And then a message about a 'game'. The painful memory of Kaito's death appeared in her mind and her heart tightened in her chest. Tears welled up, but she suppressed them, continuing through her fragmented timeline.

She remembered Len, walking away from them, and then Rin running after him. _Oh, Gakupo,_ she thought sadly. _Did you have to do that to them?_ She tried again to remember, but there was nothing more. Len left, then Rin. And then nothing. Like a hole, punched in her memory.

Deciding to leave the dark place, Lily tried to get up. But, her wrists and ankles were tied back to some kind of table by thick, leather bands. She pulled at them, but they didn't come off. Frustrated, she rested her head back onto the table, wondering what to do, when a whirring sound on her left began. She turned to see what it was, but the room was dark and she saw only a shadow and a flashing, red dot of light moving towards her. Panicking, she jerked her wrists, trying to free herself of her restraints, but in vain. She felt a cold, sharp piece of metal, like a thin knife, cut through her left shoulder. She froze as the pain spider-webbed around the cut. Staring at the ceiling wide-eyed, the pain continued to intensify. Finally, unable to bear anymore, a shrill scream escaped from Lily's mouth as the sound of a bone cracking filled the room.

.

.

.

"Lily!" Miku screamed at the top of her lungs. She sighed sadly, thinking of how it had turned out the last time. Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back and blocked out the thought of Kaito, focusing on finding Lily instead. She heard the others, not too far away, screaming out for their lost friends, but each called was left unanswered.

"She's probably already dead," Meiko stated.

"Meiko!" Miku growled, angry. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Meiko rolled her eyes sarcastically but said nothing more. They continued walking forwards, drifting away from the group without even noticing. Miku called out for Lily again, unwilling to give up, but she knew the terrible things Meiko said were nothing but the truth.

.

.

.

After Lily disappeared, Gakupo immediately set out to look for her. This time though, he decided that they would all stay together, mostly because if was safer, but also because they only had the one hallway to comb through. The whole time they'd been walking, there hadn't been any doors or any other paths Lily could have taken; which is what baffled him the most.

He had a feeling she was already dead, and his helplessness frustrated him. Doubt and guilt invaded his heart as he tried to think of a way Len could have killed her. But slowly, he realized it was practically impossible. He had accused an innocent, and pretty much sentenced Len to death with his sister. Their blood was on his hands.

A shrill scream rifled through the air and faded away, ending in a strange gurgle. Gakupo started running, fearing the worse, but Neru stopped him short.

"Gakupo," she said, her voice trembling. "I… I don't think that was Lily."

He read the message on the phone and knew Neru was right; _I think someone needs some fresh air…_

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. "Luka, what does this mean?" Gakupo asked when she walked towards him. She analysed the words before answering.

"Asphyxiation," she said plainly.

Gakupo nodded, his face serious. Walking towards the sound of the scream, the others followed him. Once again, a terrible sight awaited them.

Miku's body hung limply from a rope, one end tied around her neck and the other disappearing in the darkness of the ceiling. Her teal eyes held no life and her skin was as pale as death. Meiko sat, her back against the wall, with her head in her hands, sobbing hysterically. Luka circled around Miku and went to Meiko.

"Look at her, just hanging there, dead. Doesn't that look fun?" Meiko said, her eyes wild. Luka stared at her wide-eyed as she broke into a hysterical laughter. Luka then dragged Meiko away, the others staring at them fearfully.

"Okay, let's just back away from Miku. Everybody, continue down the hallway," Ted ordered, his voice sounding choked.

Wordlessly, Ia and Gumi took the lead and continued down the hallway until they disappeared in the darkness, the others following shortly after. Gakupo glanced at Ted, who nodded, before heading towards Miku's body.

Gritting his teeth, Gakupo reached up and undid the noose around Miku's neck as Ted readied himself to catch her. She dropped down and her fall was stopped by Ted, who staggered back as he caught the dead-weight. Ted then laid her down on the ground before Gakupo took off her backpack full of food as well as the 42 calibre gun she'd been carrying. He swung the backpack onto his shoulder and fitted the gun into his belt, beside his katana. His expression strained, he followed the others, Ted not far behind.

.

.

.

When Len had finally arrived at the end of the shadow, he had been momentarily stunned by what stood before him. A giant hedge that had to be a least 50 feet high loomed over him. He looked to both sides, but the hedge stretched on and disappeared into what had to be the thickest fog he'd ever seen. The only way forward was a large opening just as high as the hedge itself cut into the thick greenery.

_A maze,_ Len realized. _A hedge maze._ He turned around to go fetch Rin, but then realized that the wall, as well as the hall he'd come from, was gone. The darkness he had just crossed now stretched on forever in a parallel line with the hedge. Len frowned. _What the hell is going on?_ he thought.

For a moment he hesitated, not knowing whether he should try going back or just wait for his sister. Worry out-weighing everything else in his mind, he dropped his backpack to the floor and kneeled down, digging through the supplies he had brought. He smiled when he found what he was looking for; a long rope. He scanned his surroundings, looking for something to tie one end of the rope to. When he saw nothing, he tied it to his backpack, which he dropped in front of the entrance to the maze. Holding onto the loose end of the rope, he returned into the shadow, hoping it would lead him back to his sister.

.

.

.

Len had been walking for a little while and was now starting to worry. _It didn't take me this long to reach the maze from the hallway, _he thought, wondering how that was even possible. It was then that he heard footsteps. He lunged forward, grabbing in the direction of the noise with his free hand. A familiar ear-piercing scream filled the air as he pulled the person towards himself. An elbow landed a solid hit in his stomach, knocking him down and cutting off his breath momentarily.

"Rin!" he said, gasping for air. "Rin, calm down! It's me!" He braced himself for another blow, but it never came.

"Len?" his sister's terrified voice said.

Getting up, Len groaned, wondering how he could possibly still be holding onto the rope.

"You know, for a little girl, you can hit really hard," he stated, only half-joking.

"Len!" Rin shrieked, her voice choked. She jumped into his arms and snuggled her face into his neck as he wrapped his free hand around her waist, pulling her in close. His smile quickly faded when he felt her whole body shake from her sobs. Alarmed, he tightened his arm around her protectively.

"Rin, we have to get out of here, okay?" Len whispered, speaking softly into her ear.

She nodded, unwrapping her arms from his neck and grabbing his free arm instead. Although the tightness of her grip was hurting him, he said nothing and followed the rope back towards the maze. Within seconds, they arrived in front of the massive hedge. Once again, Len was confused by the unfitting timeline that occurred in the darkness and knew that there was something seriously wrong with the shadows.

His sister still clinging to him, he dropped the rope beside his backpack. Turning back to her, he pulled her trembling body into his arms and she willingly melted into him. They stood there for a few minutes, unmoving, until Rin's shaking finally ceased. Len gently pushed her away and wiped the tears from her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah," she answered. "I just… I got lost… and it was really dark… I was scared." She spilled another tear before dropping her eyes to the ground, embarrassed by Len's intense gaze. "I… I'm fine," she added, taking a deep breath.

Len nodded, still watching her closely. Pulling away from her brother, Rin scanned her surroundings and was just as surprised as Len to see the giant hedge maze.

"Len," she said suddenly, sounding excited. "If there's a hedge, it must be because we're outside right? I think we made it out!"

"I don't think so," Len answered. "Look at the ceiling."

Rin looked up and saw the pitch black pit that had followed them in the hallways. Although the scenery had changed, they weren't out yet. And, they had potentially stumbled into a room more dangerous than the hallways.


	5. Chapter 5: Slaughterhouse

_Hello! Here's another chapter. Sorry if I'm slow, I have a lot of things to do X3 I'll try my best to make another chapter as soon as possible!_**  
**

**Chapter 5: Slaughterhouse**

Luka was worried about Meiko. She knew Meiko never really liked Miku because she also loved Kaito, but Meiko had witnessed Miku's death. Luka couldn't imagine what that was like. Nor did she want to.

She pushed those thoughts away as Gakupo arrived in the area where the group was now sitting. What she saw made her heart ache. Gakupo's eyes, which she had always secretly loved, seemed dead and the happy energy he was always emitting was gone. She saw him drop two backpacks, his and probably Miku's, on the ground and sat, burying his head in his hands. She went to him, unable to resist.

She laid her hand on his back and he looked up at her, staring unsmiling with sad eyes. She gave him a sad smile and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, and for once, she let him, finding comfort in his touch. It was clear that they were staying here for a while, so she allowed herself to drift to sleep, hoping to wake up away from this nightmare.

.

.

.

Rin was still feeling a little bit shaken, and, although he would never admit it, Len was tired. So, he decided they would rest a little bit before tackling the maze. He had no idea what time it was, but the dim, hazy-gray light that surrounded them and the hedge was slowly fading away, which he figured meant that the night was coming. They ate some of the food they were carrying before settling down to sleep.

Len sat down, legs crossed, with his back against the hedge, preparing to guard while Rin slept. Rin, who was obviously exhausted, rested her head against his lap, nestling her face into his side. Her position made it hard for Len to focus on something else than her and he was desperately trying to ignore the fact that he liked it. In his attempts to distract himself from his sister, Len thought about their chances of survival.

He knew that if they didn't find any water soon, they would be dead within two days. Also, he didn't know if he would be able to protect his sister. He was doing his best, he always did, but how long would it be before she shattered to the point where he wouldn't be able to fix her anymore? Rin was strong, but this place defied all logic. How much would she be able to handle before going mad?

His fatigue quickly winning over his will to stay awake, Len slowly drifted off to sleep, his taboo feelings for his sister dominating in his mind. He dreamed good dreams; dreams where Rin was the center of his attention. Dreams where he didn't care that she was his sister.

.

.

.

Len woke up with a start, Rin filling his head as his dream still lingered in his mind. He then realized that Rin was gone.

"Rin!" Len yelled, panic in his voice. "Rin!"

"I'm right here, Len!" Rin's voice answered as she rounded the corner of the first hallway of the hedge maze.

"Rin," Len said, sighing in relief. "Don't go off like that. You scared the shit out of me."

"Don't worry so much," she replied. "You're not my mom."

"Maybe not. But, I am your brother."

She ignored this and stomped towards the backpack, digging through it for something to eat.

"Well, if you want to know," she said, clearly frustrated at her brother, "I went to go check out the maze while you were sleeping."

Len sighed at his sister's stubbornness, but decided to let it go. "What did you find?" he asked.

"Nothing relevant," she answered. "Both sides lead deeper into the maze. There has to be hundreds of different paths we could take."

Len stared down the hallway they were standing in, considering their options, which were very limited.

They could go back through the darkness, but for Rin's sake, he knew that it wasn't a good idea. They could try walking towards the fog, but he had a feeling that it didn't lead anywhere. Although he didn't like it, the best option was to go through the maze. He looked at Rin, who had just started munching on some weird cereal bar.

"Okay Rin. Let's go," he said, closing the bag before throwing it onto his shoulder. He then started walking towards the end of the path, Rin staring after him with a bewildered expression on her face.

"You're not actually planning on going in the maze, are you?" she shrieked, her eyes wide.

"Actually," he replied matter-of-factly, "I do. And you're coming with me." He stopped and turned to her.

"No way am I going in there," she retorted stubbornly.

"You just went in. And by yourself at that!" Len stated.

"Yeah! But I didn't _really_ go in! I just… checked things out for a second," she said, knowing how silly she sounded with that argument.

Len sighed and walked over to her. Before she realized what he was going to do, he had already picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder. She yelled at him to put her down, but he ignored her. Unable to stay angry at Len's silliness, Rin started laughing as he carried her into the maze.

.

.

.

Neru woke up from a horrible nightmare where she saw all of her friends hanging from ropes, in the same manner as Miku. She shuddered as the feeling of her dream lingered for a few moments.

Shaking her head, she looked around; clearly, everyone was getting ready to leave. She shook Haku, who was still sleeping beside her, before reaching into her backpack for something to calm her growling stomach. She ate as Gakupo woke the people who were still sleeping. Within a few minutes, everyone was up and ready to go. Luka and Gakupo in the lead, they walked down the same path as yesterday, continuing down the never-ending hallway.

.

.

.

"Gakupo," Luka whispered so no one else would hear. "What if this hallway just goes on forever?"

"You know that's impossible," he replied.

She gave him a meaningful look.

"_If_," Gakupo continued, "it _was_ possible, then we would probably die."

Luka sucked in her breath and nodded.

"However," Gakupo added, "I believe there is an end to this hallway."

Luka looked in front of herself and saw that they were now standing in front of a big, wooden door. She shivered, not knowing why she felt so afraid of a simple door made of wood.

"I… don't think we should go in," she stammered, hesitant.

"Luka, we don't have a choice," Gakupo said gently.

He reached towards the handle and pulled on it, motioning everyone through before finally heading inside the room. At first, Luka was confused by their surroundings, but then became afraid once she realized where they were.

"We're in a slaughterhouse." She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. Heads turned, staring at her with confused expressions that where tainted with fright.

"How do you know?" Gumi asked in a small voice.

Luka walked over to one of the large hooks that hung from a thick chain disappearing into the dark ceiling. She grabbed it, and everyone turned their gazes towards the piece of metal she was holding.

"They hook the dead animals who are supposed to be packaged oh these," she declared, rattling the chain she was holding. "It's not safe to be here. We should leave."

"I… I don't think we can," Ia stammered. She pointed where the door had been. All that was left was a shadow similar to the ceiling.

"Well, this is just great!" Meiko yelled. "Looks like we're all gonna die in a _slaughterhouse_!"

"What? How could you say something like that?" Teto growled.

"I don't want to die!" Neru cried, falling to her knees as tears started streaming down her face. Chaos then swept the group. Everyone spoke at the same time, yelling and crying. Luka stared at them hopelessly, not knowing how to calm them. Things then got really out of hand when Teto's fist striked Meiko's jaw. Everyone stared at Teto with wide-eyes. Even Meiko seemed stunned.

"Just shut up!" Teto raged. "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Meiko's eyes seemed to almost light on fire. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!" she screamed, enraged. She pulled her arm back and would've punched Teto back, but Gakupo grabbed her arm, stopping her swing.

"I suggest you let go, Gakupo," Meiko hissed, looking ready to bite his head off. Panicking, Luka spoke up.

"That's enough!" she yelled, her voice steadier than she felt. "No one is going to survive if we fight against each other."

Meiko jerked her arm free of Gakupo's hold and glared at Teto before stalking off. Teto dropped her gaze to the ground, feeling remorseful as her brother laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Luka followed after Meiko, knowing it was unsafe for her to be alone, and Gakupo followed soon after her.


	6. Chapter 6: Stitches

_Here is another chapter. Enjoy this and leave a review X3_

**Chapter 6: Stitches**

"Len, I know we're totally lost, so just say it," Rin whined.

"We aren't lost, Rin. We're in a maze. There's a difference," Len stated, not really knowing why he didn't want to admit that they were, in fact, lost. Rin sighed but didn't insist. They'd been walking for a few hours now and had found nothing at all. Only hall after hall of those giant hedges that formed a maze. Len was starting to feel the effects of dehydration, and he knew they needed water fast. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice he was about to walk into a pit until Rin yelled at him.

"LEN! WATCH OUT!" she shrieked. He stopped, his foot hovering over the edge of the hole. Only, it wasn't really a hole. The ground between the hedges on his left and right seemed to have faded away, reappearing only a few feet further, where Rin was standing. He considered jumping over the gap, but then, the ground beneath Rin's feet began disappearing as well. She jumped backwards just as it completely dropped out of sight and ran, more and more of the ground fading away. There was now about 20 feet of darkness between them. After making sure the ground wouldn't disappear again, Rin looked up towards her brother.

"What do we do?" she asked, speaking loudly enough for him to hear.

He looked behind himself. The floor was gone there too.

"I don't know," Len replied. The sound of a motor then began. Len heard a metallic grinding as he felt the ground he was standing on shake slightly. He looked at the hedge and was momentarily frozen with terror. Two walls covered in sharp, metal spikes were slowly coming out of the greenery, closing in on him. He heard Rin shriek his name as she saw the metal spikes that would take his life in just a few seconds.

.

.

.

When Luka finally found Meiko, her friend was extremely pissed, mostly at Teto, but Gakupo as well. Luka walked cautiously towards her, not entirely sure of the stability of Meiko's mental state.

"Meiko," Luka called out gently. "Are you okay?"

Meiko turned and faced Luka. Her lip was cracked and bleeding and she would probably have one hell of a nasty bruise, but other than that, she seemed fined.

"Oh, hey Luka," Meiko said, sighing as she sat down. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

Luka decided Meiko was fine and took a spot beside her.

"You shouldn't run off like that," Luka explained. "It's not safe."

Meiko smirked. "I guess that wasn't smart."

"Let's go back," Luka proposed.

She nodded, staring off into the distance. Luka got up and started to leave, Meiko following her, when Gakupo bumped into them.

"Luka!" Gakupo said, startled.

"We were just heading back," Luka explained.

She heard Meiko mutter something under her breath and when she turned around, Meiko was glaring at Gakupo.

"Did you say something?" Luka asked, frowning.

The glare on Meiko's face disappeared and she smiled just a bit too widely.

"No," she said as if it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Not really knowing why, Luka felt a ping of fear grip her heart. She turned away, walking back the way she had come with Gakupo and Meiko.

.

.

.

Rin wanted to do something, but she had no idea what. She felt hopeless and wanted to cry, but knew she had to control herself if she was to come to Len's aid. Frantically, she turned in circles, looking for something that could stop the walls or make the floor reappear. She was loosing hope when she noticed a spot where the leaves on the hedge seemed thin. She ripped at them, uncovering a small, square chamber that was about two feet long with a rusty button at the back.

"Dammit," she thought, not knowing if she would be able to reach it. Still, she stuck her hand in but stopped short when she noticed the barbed-wire lining the metal walls. The chamber itself was only large enough for her arm to squeeze in. She wouldn't be able to reach the button while avoiding the sharp barbs.

She looked back at Len; she didn't have much time before the spikes stabbed in. Taking a deep breath, she squeaked her arm in through the small opening, feeling the barbs scratch at her bare skin. "Outch," she muttered as the sharp metal pierced her skin. She stopped, the pain stinging her arm. She knew that one of the barbs had hooked her skin and was lodged in deep. But she was so close, and Len would die if she didn't do anything.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed her arm through. The barb ripped through her forearm and she felt the blood pool over it. She pushed the button, and carelessly pulled her arm out, earning herself a few more small scratches. The gash on her forearm was thick and gushing out blood. "Shit," she thought, biting her lip to ease the pain. "That's way too much blood." She pulled off the belt she'd been wearing to strap her gun to her waist and wrapped it around the wound as tightly as she could.

.

.

.

Len was standing sideways, holding his breath, when the walls stopped moving. He opened his eyes. One spike stood only a few inches away from his face. He stared at it wide-eyed, still holding his breath. He then slowly turned his head in Rin's direction, but the ground hadn't returned. On the other side however, firm ground lead him away from the deadly trap he had just barely escaped from.

He started walking towards it, careful to remain sideways to avoid ending up with a spike stabbed into his side. He finally made it and stumbled away from the walls that had nearly crushed him as leaves quickly covered up the path, hiding all traces of the spikes and its walls. Len turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Rin!" he yelled as loud as he possibly could. "If you can hear me, stay where you are! I'm coming to find you!" And he ran, knowing she was in danger because she was alone.

.

.

.

The group had continued in silence. The only one who spoke was Meiko, who was loud enough to make up for everyone. They passed room after room of animal cages, meat grinders and hooks on chains. But, the whole place was empty. And there were no signs of an exit. After a while, Miki and Gumi felt fatigued and thirsty, though they had no water. They decided to rest a while before continuing.

Luka and Gakupo decided to look through the multiple doors for water, and Teto and Ted also volunteered for the task. While searching, Teto heard a noise that sounded like drops echo through the room. She followed the noise towards a different room. There, she saw cages lined with multiple troughs on either side of the room.

_This is where they kept the pigs,_ she thought. She looked to where the sound came from. There were taps that served to fill the troughs with water for the pigs. A slow trickle of water came from one of them. She ran to it and turned the knob, a steady stream escaping from it.

"Ted!" Teto squeaked excited. "Ted, I found water!" When no answer came, she turned around. Her brother had not followed her. She turned off the tap and went back to the previous room.

"Ted?" she said, peering through the door frame. Her eyes widened at the sight her eyes fell on. Ted hung from one of the chains, the hook on its end piercing straight through his stomach. Fresh blood dripped down onto the floor, creating an enormous pool underneath him. Teto dropped down to her knees, screaming her pain and horror. Within seconds, Luka rushed in with Gakupo, both freezing at the sight of Ted's body.

"Look at all the blood Gakupo," Luka said, horrified. "He bled to death."

Another heart-wrenching scream ripped through Teto's throat as Luka quickly dragged her away. Grabbing Ted's backpack and dagger as quickly as possible, Gakupo ran after them.

.

.

.

Cradling her arm against her chest, Rin sat down in a corner of the hedge. She shut her eyes, trying to ignore the intense burning in her arm. She'd been sitting there a few minutes and had been half-asleep when she heard a strange, sliding noise. She ignored it, trying to sleep, but it persisted. She opened her eyes, exasperated, and stared in the direction of the noise. She saw a dirt-covered hand reach out from the behind the hedge.

She froze, her eyes widening. The thing dragged itself forward slowly, uncovering its body. Thick black stitches connected it's limbs to the rest of the form, only they were slightly out of place, as if they'd been cut off first. Rin stared in horror, not daring to breath. She watched as blood and another thick, white substance oozed out from beneath the stitches. Although she couldn't see the face, the longue, blond hair on the things head was familiar to her.

_Lily,_ Rin thought in horror. She was staring at what used to be her friend. Unable to help herself, Rin let out a quiet whimper. The thing froze. Slowly, it turned its head towards Rin, the neck cracking eerily as it did. When Rin saw her face, a horrified scream passed through her lips and echoed throughout maze.


	7. Chapter 7: Water

**__**_Hello! I have another chapter all done! I really hope you enjoy this new addition and I'll be starting on eight soon. Leave me review, tell me what you think X3_

**Chapter 7: Water**

Teto was heart broken. She couldn't stop sobbing and she repeated the same phrase over and over again.

"We're all gonna die," she quietly ranted between her tears. Gakupo stared at her, not knowing what to do. She refused to go any further, and soon, they would have no choice but to leave her there to die. While Luka tried her best to find a way to help Teto, Gakupo had taken every container he could find, and with Miki and Haku's help, filled them up with water. They went back, everyone avoiding looking at Ted's mangled body on the way, but they couldn't help but hear the dripping of his blood onto the stone floor.

When they got back, still no progress with Teto's condition. She was curled up into a ball, everyone staring at her with desperate looks on their faces. And then, Gumi took action. She went to Teto and slapped her in the face. Teto stopped crying and ranting to stare at Gumi with a startled look. And then, Gumi leaned in and hugged her.

"Teto, it'll be alright," she said in a quiet voice. Teto nodded, her tears still streaming down her face. Gumi helped her up and wiped her tears away, smiling warmly. Finally, they were on their way, struggling to keep their sorrow at bay until they were safe.

.

.

.

Len ran through the maze crazily. _Shit,_ he thought angrily. _Fuck. Stupid fucking maze._ He'd heard Rin scream and had no way of getting to her. He was completely lost and his anger was making him reckless, but he didn't care. Rin wasn't safe. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

The sound of a gunshot rifled through the air, echoing slightly. He stopped and listened as five more sounded in quick succession. Rin had a gun, but what could she possibly be shooting at? Len grabbed the rifle that hung on his back and held it in front of him, ready to fire. He'd never really used a gun before and it felt awkward to be holding it, especially since it might actually save his life… or Rin's.

He came to a three way fork in the maze. He looked to his feet and saw that he was standing in a pool of blood. "Holy shit," he thought. "No one can survive loosing that much blood." He saw a trail of the red substance smeared onto the ground, leading to his right. He followed it, moving forward cautiously, knowing somebody had to be dragging the body from which the blood had come from to create the kind of trail he was following.

After a few minutes, Len arrived to a horrible scene. His sister was curled up into a ball in the corner of the maze, clutching her gun tightly. In front of her, a slumped figured covered in dry blood and dirt was dead. He stared at it, noticing the stitches on the limbs. Then, he looked at the face.

Its eyes were blood-shot and bulging, its nose hanging crookedly from its face. The bottom jaw was missing, leaving the tongue hanging from its mouth. He flinched at the sight before turning his attention back to the terrified Rin.

"Rin," Len said gently, taking a step towards her. She screamed and pointed her gun at him, her eyes wide. Len was taken aback. He froze, not daring to take another step. Her hand was shaking. _Fuck,_ he thought, knowing she had trigger-finger because of all her trembling.

"Rin, put the gun down," Len said slowly, putting his rifle on the ground to show her he wouldn't hurt her. She stared at him, unmoving.

"Rin, it's me."

Her eyes started to water. She dropped her arm and began crying. He ran to her and pried the gun from her hand before forcing her up. He dragged her away from the disgusting mess, grabbing his rifle on the way.

.

.

.

Luka was confused. After finding Ted, she'd been sad. But then, she realized that there was something wrong. She tried to find an explanation to the phenomenon she'd taken note of. She hadn't told anyone about it, but there was only one, horrible conclusion to her reasoning. She needed to tell Gakupo. When they stopped for a short, water break, Luka motioned for him to come to her. He sat down beside her in the corner of the room.

"I need to tell you something," Luka began. Gakupo looked at her, frowning.

She took a deep breath. "I… I think one of us killed Ted."

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He didn't believe her.

"When Lily disappeared, we got a message that told us she was gone. The same thing happened with Miku when she died," she continued, knowing she was right. "But, when Ted died, we got nothing. Why would it warn us about the first two, but not Ted?"

Gakupo nodded, considering it. "Because Ted wasn't planned." He frowned again. "But what about Kaito? We found him dead, yet the message that we got didn't say anything about him dying. Why?"

She hadn't thought about that. She reread the message in her head. "It did," she answered. "_It has begun._ The messages it sends aren't enigmatic. That sentence was telling us Kaito was dead, we just didn't notice because we didn't figure it meant anything at all."

Gakupo nodded gravely. "You know what this means, don't you."

"We can't trust anybody."

"And," he added, "we really are in some kind of sick game. And only one of us can win."

.

.

.

They hadn't needed to walk very far before Len found a place to rest. A little pond with seemingly no bottom sat at the end of one of the hallways in the maze. He dropped his backpack a little ways from it. Rin, who was still sobbing, dropped down onto the ground.

"Len," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry." She started an incomprehensible rant before Len stopped her, sitting down pulling her into his arms.

"It's alright," he whispered. "You're safe now." She clutched at him, her tears soaking the shoulder of his shirt. When she was a little bit calmer, he asked her what had happened.

"I don't know," she answered, tears still running down her dirty face. "She came out of nowhere. And… she… she wouldn't stop moving. So… I… shot her. She was all… messed up! I didn't know what to do! I… I killed L… Lily!"

She broke down into sobs again and Len tucked her face into the crook of his neck, not knowing what it would be like to have killed a friend. Lily hadn't been precisely Lily anymore, but she was still someone they knew and loved. He held back his grief, knowing that not doing so would cost him his life as well as Rin's.

"She was already dead, Rin," he ushered quietly in a soothing voice. "She was already gone."

Rin nodded, shutting her eyes as Len smoothed her hair, letting herself fall asleep to the sound of his soft voice whispering comforting words.

"I love you," he whispered as her mind drifted away.

.

.

.

SeeU, Ia, Gumi and Teto were sitting around in a circle, talking about useless things to avoid touchy subjects like Ted's death which had occurred only approximately an hour ago. Behind them Meiko snorted. SeeU whipped around and glared at her.

"What's your problem?" she said venomously.

"Oh, nothing!" Meiko said, rolling her eyes sarcastically.

"Bitch," SeeU muttered, turning back to her friends.

.

.

.

Rin had fallen asleep. While she slept, Len went to the pond and filled the containers they had. He took a drink and sighed as the water soothed his aching, raw throat. He sat back against the hedge and looked up, shutting his eyes. His hands were still slightly shaking from the fear he'd felt for his sister. He'd never been so relieved in his life when he'd found her, alive. Terrified and crying, yes, but alive. That's what mattered the most.

He let his mind wander, trapped in a half-sleep state. After a little while, he heard Rin beginning to move. His eyes snapped open.

"Len," she whispered in a sleepy voice.

He got up and rushed to her, handing her a bottle of water, which she happily took. She took a few drinks and handed the bottle back to Len before pulling herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, nicking her right arm with his hand. She flinched and whimpered. He looked to see what he'd done and noticed there was belt wrapped tightly around her forearm. He frowned and looked at Rin's face. She was biting her lip; clearly she was in pain. Carefully, he unwrapped the belt, Rin whimpering quietly as he did.

"What the…" Len said, his eyes widening. "Rin! What did you do?"

He quickly grabbed the bottle, pouring some water over the long, red gash on her forearm. The cut was sticky, blood still slowly trickling out of it.

"I… the walls, they would've killed you. And the button… there was barbed-wire," she mumbled.

It took him a minute too understand, but when he did, he exploded with rage.

"You cut your arm to_ stop the walls_?" he asked slowly.

She nodded.

"I had to…" she said in a small voice.

"No, you didn't!" he yelled loudly. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT? ARE YOU STUPID?"

He got up and started pacing, trying to contain his anger. He peered at his sister's arm and flinched away, unable to stand looking at the rust-covered cut. Her lips tight, Rin stood up.

"Shut up," she said.

"SHUT UP?" Len yelled back, exasperated. "STOP BEING SO STUPID ALL THE TIME!"

"YOU CAN'T ALWAYS PROTECT ME LEN!" she shrieked, finally loosing her calmness.

"WELL I LEAST I CAN TRY!" he replied, his face red.

"YOU'LL GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

"BETTER ME THAN YOU!" he raged, his tone final.

She glared at him, wanting to rip his head off. Finally, she whipped around and walked to wards the pond. Stopping for a second near the backpack, she pulled out a first-aid kit and a small piece of cloth. She tried cleaning her cut, but her hands were shaking too much from anger, and she did nothing but hurt herself.

After a few minutes, Len came from behind her, taking the cloth from her hands. He sat down next to her and began working at cleaning the gash, his hands much more gentle and steady than her own. She turned away from him, pouting, but allowed him to tend to her arm.


	8. Chapter 8: Fire

_Sorry for the wait! I'm pretty busy... So anyway, enjoy this chapter and leave a review X3_

**Chapter 8: Fire**

Gakupo was feeling conflicted by Luka's revelations. She was right, he knew that, but he was still trying to figure out how it was possible for them to have ended up in this game. There didn't seem to be an answer; after all, nobody remembered what they were doing before they'd arrived here. He himself couldn't understand how he'd come to be here; all of his latest memories before arriving into this hellhole were jumbled and confusing. It gave him a headache just trying to remember.

It was with great distracting on Gakupo's part that the group started walking again. But, roughly an hour later, they were forced to stop because of dimming lights announcing a so-called night time.

.

.

.

Len was very worried about Rin's arm. The cut was almost an inch deep and stretched on her entire forearm. She needed lots of stitches, but their first-aid kit had only basic things in it; certainly not enough to care for a wound like this. So, Len was forced to improvise. They had some disinfectant and bandages which would have to do for the time being.

"Rin, we can't leave it like this," Len declared, finally done cleaning out most of the rust, dirt and dry blood that covered her wound.

She nodded. Len took his shirt off and handed it to Rin. She threw him a confused look.

"Bite down on it," Len quickly explained. "This is gonna hurt."

Without a word, she balled up his shirt and put it in her mouth. Any other time, he would have thought it funny, but under these circumstances, it wasn't very humorous. He cleaned out the cloth with water before dabbing a decent amount of disinfectant onto it. He readied himself to thoroughly clean out the wound, but stopped, inches away from the cut and looked at Rin.

"You ready?" he asked, his face serious.

She nodded, but her eyes betrayed her fear. Before he could change his mind, he applied the cloth onto the gash. Rin's eyes squeezed shut as she bit down hard into Len's shirt, chocking her screams. His heart ached at her pain, but it needed to be disinfected. It was the only option. Working as quickly as he could, Rin sat there, her muscles tense and her tears slowly running down her face.

"I'm almost done," Len whispered, trying to comfort her.

She nodded stiffly, her jaw still clamped down hard on his shirt. Finally, he threw the piece of fabric off to the side, bandaging her arm quickly. It wasn't the best option, but it was the only thing he could do. Rin's jaw loosened, and she sobbed. Len pulled her into his arms, trying his best to comfort her.

"It's over," he whispered quietly, smoothing her hair.

She sobbed into his shoulder, her body shaking. He held her there, trying to be strong for her, though he felt like crying as well. Exhausted, Rin finally fell asleep, her head snuggled into the crook of Len's neck. He held her close, needing the comforting feel of her presence, before falling into a deep sleep himself.

.

.

.

SeeU awoke, and it was pitch-black. This wasn't precisely unusual; she remembered that the lights had begun dimming, which is why they'd stopped to sleep in the first place. She was about the go back to sleep when she realized that there was, in fact, something wrong. Miki, who had been sleeping by her side, was gone. She started to feel around for Gumi, knowing she hadn't been too far, but surely enough, she was gone too.

Panic crept up on SeeU; she'd somehow been separated from everyone. She stood up and tried to find the wall, in vain. Her eyes watered. She froze and stopped breathing when footsteps sounded behind her.

"Hey," a voice said.

SeeU sighed, recognizing the voice.

"Hey," she replied. "Where is everyone?"

"Behind us. They'll reach us once they start walking again."

SeeU frowned. "Why are we here?"

"Because I brought you here," the voice answered. Although she couldn't see the face, she detected mockery in the tone of voice.

"And why did you do that?" SeeU questioned, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The voice didn't answer. Instead, the footsteps kept getting closer. SeeU felt afraid, though she didn't know why. And suddenly, she was pushed back against the wall, her back smashing harshly against the metal surface.

"Ow," SeeU yelled. "What the fuck?"

A strange noise sounded as a small, orange flame appeared on her right; a lighter.

"What are you doing?" SeeU asked, outraged. She fought, but the firm hand on her chest pinned her against the wall. She felt heat near her right hip; she smelled smoke. Her shirt was in fire. Her eyes widened.

"Stop!" she screamed, frantically trying to free herself.

The flame quickly caught her clothing and hair, the heat licking her skin, boiling and burning it. SeeU screamed and her attacker finally freed her. She fell to the ground, rolling to put herself out, but it was too late; the fire was too large. She heard a mocking laugh before a door slammed shut. SeeU continued to scream, her clothes melting into her skin as her hair burned. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. She felt herself melting, smoke filling her lungs. And she burned, on and on, until she didn't feel anything anymore. Until she was nothing but a charred corpse.

.

.

.

Rin woke up, smelling something rather strange. She opened her eyes; black smoke surrounded them. Panicked, she woke Len up, her arm still aching from the disinfectant. His eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet.

"Wait here," he ordered through gritted teeth.

He ran back the way they'd come. A few minutes later, he came back, his eyes wide.

"The maze is on fire!" he screamed, his voice frantic.

Quickly, he packed everything into the backpack and ran, Rin in tow. He had no idea how to get out of the maze, but there was no time to think; they just needed to get out before the fire ate at them. He stopped short when he came to a wall of flames, swearing colourfully as they quickly turned around. His eyes were stinging, the black smoke scratching at his lungs. Behind him, Rin was coughing horribly.

Covering their mouths with their shirts, Len fought against the urge to give up, trying to run faster. It was hot, the fire burning away at the hedges faster than they could escape. He could barely keep his eyes open, but still he stubbornly persisted, thinking of nothing but his sister's safety. Until she collapsed on the ground behind him.

"Rin!" he yelled, her name ripping at his raw throat.

She didn't respond, the fire coming dangerously close. He picked her up, covering her mouth with her shirt to protect her from the smoke. He tried running, but the flames continued getting closer until they surrounded him. Unable to continue, Len collapsed, breathing nothing but the harsh smoke.

_This is it,_ he thought. _I just wish… I could protect her._ Suddenly, he saw the exit. The maze had come to an end and a huge, brick building stood there, right in front of the hedges' exit. He didn't know how, but he somehow found the strength to get up and drag his sister through the doors. He didn't know if they would be safe from the fire in here, but there weren't any other option. Exhausted and barely able to breath, Len blacked out, falling heavily onto the ground by Rin's side.

.

.

.

"Oh, for god's sake," Gumi whispered, turning away from the mess.

SeeU had been gone when they'd woken, and only minutes after they started moving again, they'd found her, burnt to a crisp. Seeing their fourth dead body, nobody was surprised, and nobody reacted quite as horribly as the first and second time. Even Teto, who'd been torn apart, stared with nothing but tight lips. Gakupo and Luka glanced at each other, knowing Neru hadn't gotten another message. Which meant only one thing.

"We have to tell them," Luka whispered to Gakupo.

"No," he disagreed. "Then, the killer will be more careful and harder to catch."

"Maybe," Luka replied. "But, if we don't do anything, our friends are just gonna keep dying. They need to know."

Gakupo bit his lip. He didn't know what to do. Say something or not? Luka stared at him, an insisting look on her face.

"Fine," he sighed.

Luka nodded and turned towards the group, trying to explain everything to them. However, some, like Meiko and Gumi, were very unreceptive and wouldn't listen.

"You really think any of us would kill someone?" Gumi said, her tone mocking.

Luka stared at her speechless. What happened to Gumi? She was such a nice little girl. She was finally seeing the effect this place was having on the others, changing them, moulding them into someone different. Whoever this killer was probably wasn't exactly sane anymore.


	9. Chapter 9: Trapped

****_Here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Shorter than the others though... sorry... Anyway! Leave a review X3_

**Chapter 9: Trapped**

It was awkward. Luka was a smart girl, but everybody thought she was pushing it when she said someone was killing the others. Well, at least Gakupo believed her. Strangely enough, that seemed to be enough.

SeeU's death didn't have an effect on anyone like the others had. It was sad to say, but finding their friends dead seemed to have become almost a norm. Not to say no one cared, quite the contrary, but they were used to it; no one was really surprised.

Finally, Gakupo opened a door, and on the other side where the familiar hallways with the green-blue glow. A sigh of relief swept the group as they passed through the door. Then, a quick slamming noise sounded behind them; the doors had shut on their own.

"Miki!" Ia yelled, terrified. "Teto!"

She grabbed the handles roughly and pulled, but the doors remained shut, unmoving. Neru and Haku quickly went to help her, pulling as hard as they could, but the door still didn't budge. Gakupo gave it a go, but he already knew he would be unable to open them. Ia smashed her fists against the wooden surface, yelling for them to open. Eventually, she got tired and slumped to the ground, her head in her hands.

"Ia, there's nothing we can do," Luka soothed, trying to comfort her friend.

Gakupo was looking at the doors helplessly when Neru pulled at the back of his shirt. He read the fear in her eyes and knew something else had been sent to her phone. _Even with an adult, a child can still be lost. _He didn't need Luka to figure this one out; it was plain as day. It didn't matter much what they did now, Miki's and Teto's fates had already been sealed.

.

.

.

The door had slammed shut in Miki's face, knocking her backwards. Then, the room had become pitch-black, as if shutting the door had turned out the already-dim lights as well. Beside her, Teto moaned.

"Ow," Teto muttered, not very happy.

"What happened?" Miki asked, worried.

She got up and started feeling around, looking for the door, but didn't find it.

"I don't know," Teto answered.

Then, something solid struck the back of her head. Miki wondered momentarily if it had been Teto who hit her before hitting the ground hard. Her vision blurred. A small, red dot of light began flashing; it was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

.

.

.

Rin awoke, her throat burning as if hot coals had been shoved down her throat. She remembered the fire and realized it wasn't too far from the truth.

She grabbed the backpack and started drinking some water; it helped, but her throat still hurt. Beside her, Len was still lying down with his eyes closed. She continued drinking, paying no mind to him. Then, it occurred to her that Len might not be alright; he must have inhaled a good deal of smoke too.

"Len?" Rin whispered, praying that he would wake up.

When he didn't move, she shook him slightly.

"Len," she said, louder this time.

Still, nothing.

She moved until she was beside him and shook him as hard as she could.

"LEN!" she screamed into his ear.

He still didn't move. Tears started streaming down her face as she continued trying to wake him.

"Oh god, no! LEN!" she sobbed.

It was useless. He was dead. She dropped her head onto his chest, screaming out her pain, crying and praying for it not to be true, for him to still be alive. And then, what she heard made her stop short. She listened carefully. It was faint, but it was there; a heartbeat. Len's heart was still beating.

Frantic, she whipped around, grabbing a bottle of water. She opened it and brought it to his lips.

"Please let this work," she whispered, her tears still running down her face as she poured some water into his mouth.

At first, nothing happened. But then, Len started coughing. His eyes snapped open and fell on his sister. He looked surprised to see her, though she didn't know why. Almost immediately, his face drained of its color. He crawled a little ways away and threw up.

Rin quickly ran to him, holding his hair out of his face and handing him a water bottle. He took it and drank the whole thing.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked.

It was a stupid question; clearly, he wasn't okay. But, she didn't really know what to say. All she cared about was that he was alive. He nodded.

"Fine," he said, his voice raspy.

He frowned at her, his eyes tired.

"Are _you _okay?" he asked, worry in his voice.

She nodded, smiling, though her eyes were still red and her face still streaked with tears. Len stood up, stumbling slightly as he walked back to the backpack.

"So, uh, where exactly are we?" Rin asked, taking note of her surroundings as she followed him.

"I don't know," he answered, clearly just as puzzled as her.

He picked up the backpack and began walking down the hall towards the closest door.

"Len," Rin said, grabbing his arm. "You're not well. You should… sleep or something."

"I'll be fine," Len answered, smiling at her.

She stared at him, her eyes uncertain.

"I promise," he insisted.

She let go of his arm and he turned around, continuing his path. He slowly pushed the door open and peered inside.

"What the fuck?" he muttered under his breath.

He walked inside and Rin followed him in. At the front of the room was a black chalkboard that stretched across most of the wall. Small desks were evenly spaced out in neat rows of six across most of the floor. A larger desk stood to the left of the chalkboard, away from the door. At the back, a library full of dictionaries was picking up dust.

"A classroom," she said, more to herself. "Does this mean we're in a school?"

Len shrugged, not knowing either. They exited the room and continued down the hall, opening the doors. A similar scenario awaited them behind each one; room after room of desks. They passed by a small, drinking fountain, but no water came from it. Finally, they arrived to a staircase, one leading up and another down.

Len first figured they should go down, thinking a door leading out would be there rather than on the second floor. But, his instincts yelled at him to go upwards, telling him that this school wasn't just any other school and that it defied logic just like everything else they'd seen so far. So, he went up.

Rin was still worried about her brother, watching him carefully as they climbed the stairs. His step was unsteady and his face was very pale. She expected him to fall down at any moment. Surely enough, he didn't, but as soon as they arrived to the top of the stairs, he threw up again.

Len leaned against the wall, using it to hold himself up. Rin rushed to him, helping walk over into one of the classrooms. She helped him sit down. He closed his eyes and rested his back and head against the wall. Then, he stopped moving completely.

"Len?" Rin asked quietly.

He didn't answer. She checked to make sure he was still breathing, which he was. He'd fallen asleep. She smiled, glad that he was getting some rest, and watched over him. His face seemed so much more at ease. Her heart beat faster as she stared into his peaceful expression, something she hadn't seen in a long time. Seeing Len happy was the only thing she needed to give her the will to remain strong, hoping it would be enough to keep the smile she loved on his face.


	10. Chapter 10: Melancholy

****_Well, I'm finally done chapter 10... After multiple threats from 'Rin' that is X3 It's not really my fault; I was busy watching anime! Okay yeah, it's kinda my fault XDDD Anyway, enjoy and leave a review_

**Chapter 10: Melancholy**

When Miki came too, she was lying somewhere on a cold, tiled floor, and Teto was gone. She instantly panic and tried getting up too quickly. The blood rushing out of her head too fast caused her to come crashing down to the floor, bashing her head solidly on the tiles. She rubbed at it, feeling a slow trickle of blood run over her fingers.

Using the wall for support, she forced herself to her feet. Her vision was blurry and confused. Stumbling along the wall, she searched for a door, not even noticing her surroundings. She finally found it. She tried turning the knob, but the door didn't move. Rattling the handle, she jerked and kicked, but in vain. Tears began streaming down her face as she gritted her teeth, still desperately trying to open the door.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" she screamed, the words ripping through her throat.

She smashed her fists against the door one last time before slumping down to the floor, sobbing.

"I hate this place," she cried silently. "I just want to go home."

A whirring sound began, and she held her breath, listening carefully. The lights dimmed suddenly. She didn't dare to even breathe. Something grabbed and she felt strange needles jab into every joint, leaving her feeling uncomfortable. She swung her fists, causing pain to shoot up from her elbows. She ignored it.

"Let me go!" she yelled angrily, her little hands striking a hard surface that hurt her knuckles.

She kept hitting, her fists ripped and bloody, but still, the thing didn't release her. She tried to see what it was, but the darkness wouldn't allow it. It was then that the needles started moving, slowly and then faster and faster, spinning like drills, driving the sharp edges deeper into her skin.

"Stop," Miki whimpered as pain spider-webbed around every joint. "STOP!"

Her scream echoed, bouncing against the walls as the needles grinded through her bones, lodging themselves deep into her joints.

.

.

.

Len drifted in his mind, in a state of half-sleep. His thoughts flickered, moving from one thing to another faster than his brain could process them. Strange images flashed before him, disappearing before he could see what it was.

One image stuck though. Rin's back was facing him. She was practically naked, her clothes completely shredded and burnt away. He tried to go to her, to save her from the fire she was standing in, but his feet didn't move.

She turned around, and he noticed the stitches that crawled along her limbs. She faced him, and her face was a mask of horror. Her eyes were blood-shot and bulging, her nose hanging from her face at a strange angle, much like Lily. In her stomach, dozens of small knives protruded here and there, leaving a pool of blood underneath her feet and staining what little pieces of clothing that still clung to her skin.

Len wanted to scream, run, do anything, but he couldn't move. Her lips started moving and he struggled to catch the whispered words that came from her mouth.

"…save me," she said in a barely audible whisper. "Why didn't you save me?"

The voice repeated that, and the words bounced around in his head.

_I did_, he tried to say. But no sound came.

"Why didn't you save me?" Rin continued chanting.

Her body burst into flames, the skin melting off her bones, landing with gut-wrenching sloshes onto the ground. Her screams ripped at his ear-drums. He fell to his knees, trying to blot out the shrieks of his sister.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Something grabbed his shoulders and he screamed, jolting into an upright position. The disgusting mess of blood and guts that had been burning away slowly in front of him was gone. Instead, Rin, who was perfectly okay and definitely not melting, stared at him with a worried look on her face.

"Say something," she said, shaking his shoulders a little.

His heart was thumping, the images in his head fading away quickly. He stared at her, confused about everything.

"Where are we?" he finally asked, his throat feeling dry.

Rin sighed and handed him some water. He drank only a little, knowing they needed to save as much as possible.

"Same place as we were before you fell asleep," Rin answered as he looked at his surroundings.

"Fell asleep?" he echoed, even more confused.

Rin frowned at him.

"Are you okay Len?" Rin asked, her voice sounding worried.

_No, _he wanted to answer. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. All he remembered was carrying Rin through the maze while it was on fire, and then falling down. And then, nothing. _No,_ he thought. _That's not right._ He vaguely remembered seeing a building. He must've gotten up and went in. But, how could he not remember this?

"I… I remember a fire," he began, speaking quietly.

Rin leaned closer in order to hear him. He avoided her gaze, digging through his memories.

"And then, you… fell down," he continued, frowning. "I… I think I carried you."

"I'd be dead now if you hadn't," Rin confirmed, encouraging him to continue.

He nodded distantly.

"Smoke," he said suddenly, his gaze snapping up to meet hers. "I was chocking on smoke. And then, I blacked out."

"Then what?" she pressed.

"I'm not sure… In the maze, I saw a building, I think…" he said, straining to remember.

"That's it? You can't remember anything more?" Rin asked worriedly.

He shook his head, sighing desperately.

"Well," Rin said, filling him in on the fragments of memories he was missing. "I woke up here. You were there. I thought you were dead. But, after drinking a bunch of water, you seemed more or less fine. So, we came up here, and then you fell asleep in this classroom."

"I was awake?" he asked. "Wait. How much water did I drink? Are we in a school?" he added without giving her time to answer.

He grabbed the backpack, looking inside. They'd had six bottles. There were now only four left with water in them, including the one he'd just drunken from.

"I drank two full bottles?" he said, his eyes wide with horror.

"No!" Rin answered quickly, wanting to reassure him. "I drank one of them!"

"Oh," he replied, relieved. "Well, we should be more careful… Who knows when we'll find more water."

"Of course!" Rin answered, glad he wasn't angry or anything.

Len stood up and steadied himself, feeling a little bit dizzy. The feeling passed and then he felt fine. Trusting himself, he slung the backpack onto his shoulder, motioning Rin through the door of the classroom.

"We shouldn't stick around too long," Len declared as he followed her out of the room. "I have a bad feeling about this place."

"Okay," Rin agreed.

They were about to continue down the hall, when Len finally noticed something was off. He stood motionlessly, listening.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked.

"Shh," he hushed. "Hear that?"

Rin listened carefully, her eyes widening with horror.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A piano," he answered, confused.

A strange, melancholic melody floated in the air, drifting throughout the hallways.

"It's coming from over there," he said, pointing to a hall on the other side of the staircase from which they'd come yesterday.

"Len," Rin whispered fearfully. "That hall… It wasn't there when we came up."

Len continued to stare, the flats and sharps of the song ringing in his ears. He took a step towards it. _What am I doing?_ he thought with horror. He tried to step back, but his body wasn't listening. Instead, he took another step forward, as if drawn by the melody.

"We can't go there!" Rin shrieked quietly.

He turned to her. He wanted to scream at her to run, but he couldn't.

"Let's just go check it out," Len replied instead, a huge grin stretched across his face.

_No!_ Len thought, trying to scream or move away from Rin. But, his own body wasn't listening.

"O-Okay," Rin answered, unsure.

He started heading towards the source of the sound, and Rin followed him. _Run Rin!_ he tried to scream. _Goddammit Rin! Run! Fuck. RIN! _

It was useless; he couldn't warn her. He was trapped within his own mind, and he was most likely leading Rin to her death; and his.

.

.

.

It was hard to leave Teto and Miki behind, but they'd had no other choice; the door wouldn't open no matter what they did. So, Ia had to leave them behind, right? That's what she told herself, but she couldn't help but feel guilty, as if she'd let them down.

"I'm sick of everybody dying and disappearing all the time," Gumi sighed as they walked.

"Yeah, me too," Haku agreed.

Neru stared at the floor without answering.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Ia said, her tone sounding desperate.

"I suppose…" Gumi replied, sighing again.

"What do you think happened to Lily?" Meiko said.

All four head turned to her; they hadn't noticed she'd been listening to their conversation.

"Well," Ia answered, trying to calm the suddenly tense atmosphere. "If what Luka said is true, then she's probably dead."

Gumi snorted. "Yeah, and if what Luka said is true, Ted and SeeU were murdered by one of us."

"Maybe Luka _was_ right," Haku muttered under her breath.

"Haku!" Neru squeaked, shooting her a glare. "We don't know that for sure."

"I think," Ia quickly interjected before a fight broke out, "that we should just be careful."

Ia reached down to her belt, making sure the gun she was carrying was still there. Haku and Neru did the same, Gumi touching the handles to her little throwing knives and Meiko squeezing her shotgun tighter.

"Yeah," Gumi agreed. "You're right on that point."


	11. Chapter 11: Doll

_Hey! So here's another chapter X3 I know this update took longer than usual, so I'm sorry even though it wasn't really my fault... If you want to know exactly what happened, 'Rin' explained everything at the beginning of her story (since I'm the one who corrects, edits and posts everything, and I couldn't do that either, so she wanted to explain it to her followers) I believe that it was in chapter 4 of part 2 of The Rebels. You probably don't care, but just thought I'd mention it XD Anyway! Enjoy and leave a review!_

_**One more thing! **So, in one of the reviews, someone wanted me to do an update on who is alive, so here you go: Gakupo's group: Gakupo, Luka, Haku, Neru, Gumi, Ia, Meiko. Teto has disappeared, and Miki is (you will see ;) ) pretty much dead. Rin and Len are still alive, but something's not quite right with Len. And, Rin has a giant cut running along her forearm.  
_

**Chapter 11: Doll**

"Oh, for the love of God," Gakupo muttered, stopping short.

It hadn't been long since they'd exited the slaughterhouse where they'd lost SeeU and Ted. Teto and Miki had also disappeared not even an hour ago.

"Can't we just _not_ go in?" Haku said.

"Yeah," Meiko agreed. "It's pretty simple; don't open the door."

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Luka snapped angrily at her sarcasm. "Go back to the slaughterhouse so we can all get murdered?"

"Right," Gumi said, rolling her eyes. "Because one of us is a murderer who enjoys killing our friends."

Luka glared at her, ready to reply, but Gakupo cut in, trying to avoid another fight.

"That's enough," he said firmly. "Luka's right; we can't go back, which means we have to go in. Unless someone has a better idea."

No one said anything. Gakupo whipped around and opened the heavy, steel door. It creaked on its hinges, leading to a long hall with dim, fluorescent over-head lights. The walls were completely white, giving to area a ghostly feel.

Gakupo walked in first, the others following shortly after. They made their way down the long hallway, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty space. About halfway down the hallway, a large window put on display whatever was inside the room, a door standing right beside it.

Gumi pressed her face against the window, her hands cupped around her eyes to remove the reflection. She squinted, peering through the darkness on the other side.

"Well, this is ironic," Gumi snorted, finally discerning something. "We're in a hospital. Although," she added, pulling away from the window to face the group, "I bet it's not a real hospital."

A loud thump sounded against the glass, startling everyone in the group. Gumi jumped back with a yelp, turning to see what had happened.

Two hands covered in blood were pressed up against the window. They turned into little fists and smacked the glass again.

"Teto!" Ia yelled, rushing to the window.

No one else move, still stunned by the sudden reappearance of Teto. Teto's face showed up on the other side of the window. Her eyes were wide with surprise and horror. She had long cuts on her arms, hands and face, still bleeding.

"Help me!" Teto screamed, her voice muffled by the glass that separated them.

Gakupo jumped into action, grabbing the handle of the door and twisting it. However, the door didn't open. He rattled the handle, pulling harder, but still, it didn't budge. He rammed it violently with his shoulder, only managing to hurt himself.

"Hurry up!" Ia shrieked, the others staring with wide eyes.

"The goddamn door won't open!" Gakupo yelled, frustrated.

Teto was right there, bleeding with a terrified look on her face, and he couldn't reach her.

"Step back," Gakupo ordered, drawing his sword from its sheath.

Ia obeyed, Teto taking a step back as well. She then whipped her head around, looking back at something the darkness hid from everyone else. When she looked back, tears had sprung into her eyes and were running down her face.

"Please hurry!" Teto begged, her voice barely audible through the glass. "It's coming!"

Gakupo pulled his arm back, readying himself to strike the glass with the back of his sword.

.

.

.

Len pushed open the slightly ajar door from which the sound was coming from. He waltzed in, completely uncaring. Rin eyed him, thinking he was acting strange. He was being reckless, not careful like before. But, Rin trusted him and followed after him.

The melancholic melody filled the large room. She knew it was a music room because of its size, but also because of the stands scattered about. Other than those and a grand piano in the far right corner, the room was completely deserted.

Rin looked to the piano; someone was sitting there, their back facing her, playing the song without looking to see who had entered the room. It occurred to her that the person looked familiar; small, thin figure, long, red hair.

"Miki!" Rin squeaked, recognition almost knocking her off her feet.

She started to walk towards her friend, but Len grabbed her arm. His grip was tight. He roughly pulled her backwards and smacked her against the wall.

"Len!" Rin screamed angrily. "What are you doing?"

He grabbed her other arm, tightening his fingers around them.

"Let go!" Rin yelled, thrashing to escape his hold. "That hurts!"

A sadistic smile was stretched across his face, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. Inside of his mind, Len was fighting against himself, trying to take control again. _What the hell is happening? _he thought. He grabbed her wrists with one hand and drove them against the wall over her head.

Rin continued to fight, but Len's hold was firm. His free hand reached down to his belt and pulled out a knife Rin didn't even know he had. She stared at it, her eyes wide with horror.

"Len," she hissed. "What the fuck are you doing?"

_SHIT!_ Len yelled to himself. _What am I doing?_ He tried to will himself to put the knife down, but in vain. He drove the knife up and rested the blade against her neck, applying pressure. _NO!_ Len yelled, panicking. Rin stared at him, her eyes filled with terror.

"No," Len murmured quietly.

"Put the knife down," Rin said slowly, her voice shaking with fear.

Len tried to pull it away, but his hand didn't budge. He stared at her, the smile and sparkling eyes replaced with a horror-filled expression.

"I'm trying," he whimpered, straining to move.

The knife dug into Rin's skin and blood dripped down from the small cut. Rin whimpered in pain, tears welling up into her eyes. Len fought desperately, trying to pull away. But, he couldn't; he was going to kill her.

He felt tears come into his own eyes. Was this really how this was going to end? Him killing his own sister, the one person he loved in the whole world? Maybe it was his punishment for wanting her, for thinking of her in a way she probably wouldn't like.

"I love you," Rin whispered in a barely audible voice, tears streaming down her face.

Len stared at her wide eyed, forgetting about everything that was happening. Had he heard right? With one last effort, he pulled the knife away. His entire body felt weak, as if all the energy had suddenly been sucked out of him. He fell to his knees gasping for breath.

"Len!" Rin warned.

He turned his head. Miki, who had been playing the song, was now sitting up straight in her seat, her hands by her side. _The song,_ Len thought. _Must've been the thing messing around with my brain. _He gripped the knife tighter as Miki stood up.

Something clearly wasn't right. Miki's head hung limply on her shoulders, and the tips of her toes were brushing the floor, as if she were floating. Strange pieces of metal stuck out from her joints, the skin around it red and dripping with blood.

"Miki?" Rin called out hesitantly.

She got up and slowly turned around, revealing her face. Her eyes were sown shut and her mouth held into a smile by thick pieces of rope. Tears streamed down her face; she was alive and probably in a lot of pain.

Len stood up, his legs still feeling weak. He held the knife in front of him, standing protectively in front of Rin. Miki moved towards them, her feet making an eerie dragging sound on the wooden floor.

"Stop Miki," Len said firmly, his tone menacing.

"Len!" Rin squeaked. "We have to help her!"

"Remember what happened to Lily?" Len replied, wanting to explain quickly.

Rin didn't reply. He could feel that she was frightened and unsure, but that she trusted him and his judgement. Miki was coming dangerously close.

"That's enough!" Len yelled.

Miki stopped moving. He could feel her staring at them though he couldn't see her eyes. A quiet moan came from her mouth. She then started sobbing silently. The sobs grew louder before turning into some kind of maniacal laugh. _Shit,_ Len thought. _This can't be good._

Before he even realized it, she was in front of him, moving so fast, his brain didn't have time to process it. _Fuck,_ he thought. He tried to swing the knife at her, but her arm shot up from the side, landing a blow against his ribs. He heard a crack as the fist connected before flying off to the side and landing hard against the wall.

"Len!" Rin shrieked.

He was dizzy, struggling to stay awake. His vision was spotted with black, but he saw Miki grab Rin's hair and lift her off the floor as she screamed. How could Miki be this strong? Her punch sent him flying halfway across the room.

Rin continued to yell, and Len tried to get up. His breath was cut off by pain; he definitely had a broken rib. He braced his arm around himself thoughtlessly, pain exploding around his side. More spots clouded his vision before fading to complete darkness.

"Rin," he whispered as he lost consciousness.


	12. Chapter 12: Senseless

_So, uh, yeah, you might have noticed, but I posted chapter 10 twice... Sorry 'bout that :3 But I fixed it now! So, you should probably go back and read chapter 11 if you haven't already done so. Really, I'm sorry... but we're all human right? Anyway, here's another chapter, and hopefully it'll be enough for you to forgive me for my mistake XDDD Enjoy and leave a review (you can bitch at me all you want for that mistake, if you must ;DDD)_

**Chapter 12: Senseless**

The back of Gakupo's sword came down on the window at full force. The echo of the impact reverberated through the halls. Gakupo's sword bounced off the glass as he stumbled backwards.

"There isn't even a dent," Ia whispered in horror.

On the other side of the wall, Teto was staring at them with wide eyes. She began crying again, glancing behind her furtively. A blood-curdling sounded from her throat as she stumbled and fell backwards. She tried crawling towards the window but something grabbed her ankles and dragged her backwards.

Gakupo and the rest stared in horrific helplessness as Teto shrieked, kicking at whatever had taken hold of her. She clawed at the ground, trying to drag herself away, but in vain; the thing dragged her away. She disappeared into the darkness as her screams faded away.

"Holy shit," Haku mumbled.

"What the hell just happened?" Neru asked to no one in particular.

Gakupo stared at the window. It was so dark, he hadn't been able to see much of what happened exactly. All he saw was a frightened Teto being dragged away into the darkness.

"Damn it," he muttered smacking his fists against the glass, his sword still in his hand.

A crack sounded; underneath the back of Gakupo's blade, the window had cracked. How was that even possible? He smacked at it harder and the window shattered, cutting his hand in the process, but he ignored the stinging pain.

"What the hell?" he muttered as everyone stared with wide eyes. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" he yelled, frustrated.

"But… before… the window…" Luka mumbled, stricken.

"I'm sick of this fucking place," Gakupo hissed, out of himself. "I'M SICK OF THIS GODDAMN GAME!"

Gakupo took a deep breath, calming himself enough to speak normally.

"Let's go," he ordered, anger still dripping in his voice.

.

.

.

Rin stared in horror at her brother, crumpled on the floor in the corner of the room. Miki then grabbed her hair and pulled her off the ground. Rin screamed, thrashing to escape Miki's hold. But, she was so strong, Rin only felt like a limp doll.

Rin drove her foot into Miki's stomach as hard as she could. Her friend moaned in pain, letting go of Rin's hair, who crumpled onto the floor. She crawled away from Miki, hiding into the corner opposite Len.

_Len, _Rin thought, sick with worry for her brother. What could she do? She was scared to death, and yet, she didn't cry, knowing if she did, her brother and herself were as good as dead. She stood up and turned to face Miki, her back against the corner of the wall.

Miki was slowly moving towards her, her feet dragging against the floor. There was only one thing Rin could do. She chased away her fear and gathered every morsel of courage within her being before reaching for the gun strapped to her belt.

"Miki, that's enough," Rin threatened, her voice steadier than she felt.

Miki momentarily froze. But, it lasted only for a minute before she started moving again, ignoring the gun that was pointed towards her. Rin's hand shook violently.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling the trigger.

The loud bang echoed through the room, the bullet lodging itself into Miki's skull. Her head slumped onto her shoulders. Rin lowered the gun, feeling weak. And then, Miki moved towards her again. Rin stared, horrified. The bullet hole bled onto the floor, leaving a trail behind Miki. Her head hung limply on her shoulders. Clearly, there was no way Miki was still alive.

"What the hell?" Rin muttered to herself, too shocked to feel afraid.

Miki was dead, and yet she was still moving, just like Lily. Only this time, shooting her clearly wasn't enough.

.

.

.

Gakupo sighed in relief as the water flowed from the water fountain. They'd come across what they believed was a waiting room of some kind, with a reception desk and chairs. And, a working water fountain. No food though, but Gakupo was positive they could go on for another while with what they had left.

Everyone sat down, clearly wanting to take a break. Luka, preferring the floor over a chair, sunk down, her back against the wall. She stared distantly in front of her, her blue eyes seeming gray. Gakupo felt a strong pang of sadness seeing her like this. He strode over.

He plopped down onto the floor beside her. She stared at him and a tear rolled down her cheek. Gakupo was alarmed; he'd never seen Luka cry before. She was so self-controlled, she hardly ever let people see how she was feeling.

"Luka," Gakupo said, his tone comforting. "It'll be all right. We'll make it."

She smiled weakly at him, nodding.

"Can I tell something?" she asked hesitantly.

"Anything," Gakupo answered, curious.

"I-I love you," she said, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I just wanted you to know that, in case I die soon."

Her statement should have made him jump for joy, but that was one of the last things he felt like doing right now.

"You won't die," Gakupo replied fiercely. "I won't let you die."

Luka looked at him, teary-eyed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close.

"Okay," she answered, snuggling her face into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head, holding her tightly. He felt her drifting off to sleep, and he wondered what she'd be dreaming about.

"I love you," Gakupo whispered into her ear. "More than you think. But, you already knew that."

He felt her smile.

.

.

.

Rin fired the gun again, hitting Miki in the throat this time. Blood poured out, but she continued advancing, barely bothered. Rin stared helplessly, not knowing what to do as she fired another shot into her stomach. It occurred to her that she was wasting bullets, but she pushed the thought away, knowing Len had more.

_Len,_ Rin thought. What would happen to him after Miki killed her? Would he be able to get away? That's what she hoped. She remembered the look on his face when she told him she loved him. Not disgust, like she expected, but more like complete surprise.

She told herself she was being silly, thinking of something like that while on the verge of being murdered. But really, what could she do? She was going to die anyway, so why not think of happy things like the fact that Len might actually – impossibly – love her back?

Miki was now standing in front of her, and Rin braced herself for a final blow, only hoping it would be quick and painless. She squeezed her eyes shut, picturing Len's face. That was the last thing she wanted to see before dying; not Miki's disgusting, dead-looking face.

"RIN!" Len screamed, surprising her.

He suddenly appeared behind Miki, clutching his ribs, his face a mask of pain. He stumbled towards her, clearly having a hard time walking. Rin panicked. Why was he coming towards her? He should be running away!

"LEN!" Rin shouted, panicked. "RUN!"

He ignored her completely, focusing his eyes on Miki. She whipped around, ready to attack Len again. Rin took advantage of the distraction and scrambled away. Len stopped moving, only a few feet away from Miki. He clutched the knife tightly in his hand, not reaching for the rifle slung on his back.

_What is he thinking?! _Rin wondered, shocked and angry at her brother.

He stood defiantly in front of Miki as she glided towards him. And then he swung the knife, completely missing his target and slashing through the air above Miki. _That's it, _Rin thought. _That's the end of Len._

To her surprise, Miki crumpled down onto the floor. Rin stared, expecting her to get up and start moving again, but she didn't. She was dead for good now. _What the hell? _Rin thought. Len collapsed onto the ground, groaning in pain. Rin rushed to him.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked, kneeling down beside him as he clutched his ribs.

He stared at her stupidly for a second.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" he said bitterly, his voice strained.

She bit her lip, looking away.

"I… I think I broke a rib," Len declared.

"Okay. Let me take a look," Rin ordered.

She helped him out of his shirt, hating the look of pain on his face as she did. She looked at his chest; sure enough, a huge, purplish-blue bruise stained his skin. They shared a worried glance as Rin hesitantly reached out. She brushed the area above the bruise, applying only a tiny amount of pressure. Len gasped, his face becoming pale.

"Definitely broken," Rin declared, pulling her hand away.

"Shit," Len muttered under his breath.

Len breathed frantically, his face betraying how much pain he was in. Rin stared at him helplessly.

"Len, what are we going to do?" she asked, frowning.


	13. Chapter 13: Injury

****_Hey! So, here's another chapter! So, uh, unfortunately, the next few chapters might take a little longer to... "arrive"... (sad, since I'm already really slow... that sounds kinda wrong, but whatever) Reason: Have to finish my Link cosplay before Halloween XD So anyway, leave a review X3333_

**Chapter 13: Injury**

Gakupo's eyes snapped open as a scream echoed in the halls. Luka, who had fallen asleep in his arms, stared up at him with horror-filled eyes, which he returned. They both recognized the scream; it was Teto's.

Gakupo jumped to his feet and ran towards the source of the scream just as another one sounded, louder and closer this time. As he rounded the corner of a hall, he smacked right into Teto. They both stumbled backwards, stunned to find the other.

"Teto!" Gakupo finally managed to stammer.

Teto began crying and he quickly pulled her into his arms. She was covered in blood from head to toe, and she was clearly traumatized. He didn't know where all the blood came from, or even if all of it was hers.

"Shh," Gakupo hushed quietly. "You're safe now."

"We have to go!" Teto sobbed, pulling away from him. "Before it comes back!"

Gakupo frowned at her. "Before what comes back?"

"The-" she began saying.

Suddenly, she was yanked backwards. Caught by surprise, Gakupo let her go. Teto shrieked and clawed at the ground as she was once again being dragged backwards.

"NO!" she yelled.

Gakupo ran after her, but then realized that he was following Teto into an area full of shadows. It probably wasn't a good idea to go in there. He stopped running, trying to think of a way to save her even though he knew there was nothing he could do. Teto's screams faded into the darkness. In all the commotion, he hadn't thought of looking at what had caught hold of her.

"Gakupo!" Luka yelled from behind him.

He whipped around; the others had followed Luka to the place where he stood.

"Where'd Teto go?" Gumi asked, scanning the area.

Gakupo dropped his gaze to the floor as Gumi eyed him suspiciously.

"Some… thing dragged her in there." He pointed to the shadows.

"And you didn't help her?" Gumi replied, bewildered.

"I tried!" Gakupo answered, suddenly feeling tired. "But, then she went in there."

"YOU BASTARD!" Gumi exploded. "SO YOU'RE JUST GONNA LET HER DIE BECAUSE OF A LITTLE BIT OF DARKNESS?"

"It's not that simple," he tried to explain.

"Yeah, actually, it is that simple; you walk in and go get her." Before anyone could stop her, she went straight into the shadows.

Luka rushed after her, but Gakupo stopped her.

"I'll go get her," he said, his tone meaningful.

Luka stared at him for a second.

"Come back safely," she said quietly as he himself disappeared in the darkness.

.

.

.

Rin wrapped the bandages tightly around Len's ribs, being as careful as possible not to hurt him. Clearly, it wasn't working; his face was scrunched up in pain.

"I'm sorry Len," she mumbled. "I'm not very good at this."

"You're… doing fine," he said, his voice sounding very strained.

She finally finished up the job, looking to make sure it would hold. Len was breathing frantically and didn't really seem to be feeling any better. She noted that he was avoiding her eyes.

"Can you stand up?" she asked, moving to help him.

He flinched away from her touch, and she felt hurt. He wasn't being his normal self. _Does he hate me because I told him I love him? _she wondered. She'd been so sure that he felt the same, it hurt to think that maybe she was wrong.

"Len, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"Is it because of what I said earlier?" she said without thinking.

Her whole face turned bright red and she immediately regretted having asked that. But, Len's head snapped up and he stared at her with wide eyes. She could tell by the look on his face that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"What? No, of course not!" he answered quickly, sounding surprised.

He sighed, looking at the floor. Rin felt relieved, but embarrassed. He looked back at her, his eyes infinitely sad. Her heart ached at seeing him like this. She wanted to hug him, but she restrained herself, waiting for an explanation.

"I tried to kill you," he finally said darkly.

He looked at the little nick on her neck.

"I almost did."

Rin was stunned. That was his reason? She couldn't help but find it a little bit funny. But, now she knew he wasn't angry with her; he was angry at himself.

"That wasn't your fault," she said matter-of-factly. "And, you didn't kill me, so it doesn't matter anymore." She shrugged.

Len's eyes dropped back to the floor. Rin didn't know what else to say to let him know she wasn't angry.

"It does matter," he said, his voice shaking.

He dropped his head into his hands. Unable to help herself anymore, Rin moved to sit beside him. To her surprise, he pulled her into his arms. She tried her best to avoid touching his broken rib, but Len seemed to have forgotten about it. He stared at her, his eyes very different from before. Although she could see guilt still floating around in them, there was something else there that she couldn't quite put her finger on. His sadness and his pain, was more or less gone.

"What you said before; did you really mean it?" he asked, gazing at her intensely.

At first, Rin didn't really understand what he was talking about, but then, when she realized what he was asking, she turned very red.

"Well… I… I mean… It's…" she stammered. She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I did."

She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but what Len did surprised her. His expression didn't change; he continued to stare at her with the same intensity before nodding calmly.

"Well, then I suppose there's only one appropriate thing to say," he said.

He leaned over so his mouth was right by her ear. His breath tickled her neck, and she felt dizzy at his closeness.

"I love you more," he whispered. He pressed his lips against the little cut on her neck, sending a shudder up Rin's spine. "And I really am sorry."

.

.

.

Gakupo stumbled through the darkness, wondering how he would find Gumi. He kept tripping over his own feet and ramming into things he guessed were empty carts that should've been used to carry food to the patients. But, no Gumi in sight.

It was only after a little while that Gakupo finally started to hear a soft whimper. He followed the source of the sound until he was near it.

"H-Hello?" Gumi's voice called out to him.

"Gumi!" Gakupo exclaimed in relief.

"Gakupo!" Gumi sobbed.

He heard her shuffling through the darkness, looking for him.

"Gumi, follow the sound of my voice, okay?" Gakupo told her.

It didn't take long for Gumi's little hand to reach him. He grabbed it, relieved to have found her.

"I'm so sorry!" Gumi cried, her hand shaking.

"It's okay," Gakupo answered kindly. "Let's just get out of here."

_Yeah. Easier said than done,_ he thought. He had no idea from which way he'd come from, so he trusted his instincts and turned around, heading slightly left. Gumi followed him without saying a word. He could feel her fear.

After a few minutes of walking, Gakupo began seriously doubting himself. But, then a whirring noise started. He stopped, not knowing what that could be.

"What is that?" Gumi whispered.

"I was wondering the same thing," he answered, also whispering.

He didn't really know why, but he had a bad feeling about the whirring sound. He listened as a small, red dot of light cut through the darkness. Then, Gumi screamed. He felt her get yanked backwards, but held on this time.

"Something has my leg!" Gumi yelled, crying.

Panic swept over Gakupo, but he willed himself to remain calm. He pulled his sword out of its sheath, not knowing if he would be able to hit anything in this much darkness. But, he had no other choice if he was going to save Gumi.

Gumi screamed again, this time, he could tell, out of pain. It was now or never. He yanked Gumi backwards, causing another scream to rip through her throat and slashed little ways away from where he thought Gumi's leg was.

The sword connected, and the sound of metal against metal rang through the air. Sparks flew from where his sword was, enough the see that two knives were solidly anchored into Gumi's flesh and had ripped big gashes down her leg. The knives were attached to something else he couldn't see.

He hacked again, trying to separate the knives from whatever was latched onto them, but it wasn't working; the metal was much stronger than his sword. But, he kept hacking away, not knowing what else to do, until the blade of the sword finally cracked.

"Fuck," he muttered, tightly holding on to the crying Gumi.

Then, Gakupo saw another option; it was horrible, but Gumi would die if he didn't do that. He leaned over, trying to whisper loud enough so Gumi would hear, but not too loud that the attacker would too. If it could.

"Gumi, this is going to hurt like hell, and I'm really sorry, but it's the only thing left that I can do."

He felt Gumi nod and knew she understood what was his plan. So, bracing himself, he got ready to pull; ready to pull until the knives cut through the entirety of Gumi's leg and tore out near her ankle.

"One, two." He took a deep breath. "Three." And heaved Gumi backwards.


	14. Chapter 14: Crystals

****_Hello. Here is another chapter. You know when you post a new chapter, and then you write a little message at the beginning that you're pretty sure no one reads but you write it anyway in case some people do, but you really have no idea what to say? But, you don't want to always write the same boring thing, so you keep digging to find something even though there's nothing to say? That's how I feel right now... Oh well. Leave a review X3 And enjoy!_

**Chapter 14: Crystals**

Rin fell asleep in Len's arms. Len knew this because he felt her body release its tension. Her position was hurting his rib, but he didn't care; he wanted her, no, more like needed her beside him. So, he leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes.

Rin's soft and regular breaths were like a lullaby to him. It reminded him of how truly tired he was. With Rin so close to him, he thought he would be too agitated to sleep, especially now that he knew she was in love with him. But that didn't seem to be the case.

_She loves me, _he thought as he fell into a deep sleep. He couldn't and didn't fight the smile that came to his lips.

.

.

.

Gumi's scream was heart-wrenching. Gakupo didn't know how he found the strength to keep pulling, but he did. It didn't take long for Gumi's leg to get cut free, but it seemed like an eternity. As soon as Gakupo felt the resistance disappear, he swung Gumi onto his back and began running away, not paying attention to his direction. Adrenaline pumped hot and fast through his veins as he prayed to find the way back to Luka.

Gakupo burst out of the darkness, stumbling and tripping but somehow maintaining his balance as the light blinded him after being in the dark so long. He didn't waste a minute; he dropped Gumi to the floor and began tightly wrapping her bloody leg with piece of fabric torn away from the jacket he'd been wearing.

"What happened?" Luka calmly asked as she knelt beside him, handing him cloths.

Gumi moaned as Gakupo, adrenaline still rushing throughout his body, worked at stopping the blood flow with the cloths and torn fabric. His breath was coming quick and ragged and he felt tears stinging his eyes. Luka watched him with worried eyes.

"Help me carry her back," Gakupo ordered, his voice devoid of emotions.

Luka nodded and they carried her back quickly. The blood was still gushing from Gumi's wounds, but much less so than before. When they arrived to the little waiting room with the working water fountain, Neru, Haku, Meiko and Ia stared at them with wide eyes.

Gakupo poured water onto Gumi's wounds, cleaning them thoroughly before using disinfectant. Gumi's eyes flickered shut, sending Gakupo into a panic state.

"Gumi!" Gakupo said, lightly tapping her on the cheek. "Gumi, stay with me."

Her eyes opened slightly as she tried to mumble something.

"That's good," Gakupo encouraged. "Just keep talking and staring at me."

He went back to working on her leg, a pool of blood already forming there. _Shit, _Gakupo thought angrily, not knowing how to stop the blood. She needed stitches badly, but they had nothing of the sort. Then, another idea formed in his head.

"Luka! Hand me some matches!" he screamed. "And come give me a hand with Gumi!"

Luka appeared by his side, handing him some matches without asking questions. He decided it would be best if he explained the plan first.

"If we don't close those wounds, Gumi's gonna bleed out," he said gravely.

Luka nodded stiffly, understanding his plan. "You're going to burn the wounds shut."

.

.

.

Rin woke up first, but it didn't surprise her; Len had to be exhausted because of that injury. He was still shirtless, bandages wrapped around his chest. She unwrapped them carefully, making sure not to wake him.

The bruise was worse. It had grown and became even darker than before. She sighed and bandaged him again, trying to imagine what it must've been like walking with a freshly broken rib. Thinking of her brother's injury reminded her of her own; she hadn't checked on it at all.

She sat down and pulled out some disinfectant for her cut. She began unwrapping the bandage around her arm, all too aware that the pain she was feeling every time her fingers brushed the area around the wound probably wasn't a good sign. She tugged at the last pieces of bandage, but it didn't come off; it was stuck to her cut.

She gritted her teeth and pulled at it, ripping the scab off. It stung and she gasped, stopping her movement; she'd only taken half off. When the burning subsided to a dull ache, she took the rest of the bandage off and stared at the gash; it was a mess.

The long cut hadn't healed and was still open, partly because the bandage had stuck to it. The edges were red and sticky and the skin around it was also red. Dark blue veins streaked her arm here and there, stretching from the cut. Blood and some infectious liquid seeped from the cut itself, crusting around it. Little bits of bandage still clung to the gash, held there by dry blood and another yellowish-white substance.

_This is bad,_ Rin thought grimly as she stared at her arm. _This is really bad._ She was about to wake Len, but hesitated. Wouldn't he think this was his fault? It wasn't, of course, but knowing Len, he would take it upon himself since he was the one who got trapped between the walls. No, she couldn't tell him. He was already tormenting himself enough about almost killing her.

She started trying to disinfect it, but quickly gave up; it had to be cleaned first. Len started stirring in his spot against the wall; he was waking up. Rin quickly wrapped her arm up, wondering if it was okay to reuse these bloody bandages.

"Rin?" Len mumbled, his voice sticky with sleep.

She stood up and went to him, handing him something to eat. He propped himself up higher, yawning before groaning in pain. Rin shot him a worried look.

"I'm fine," he assured with a smile.

Rin was unconvinced, but she let it go. She sat down beside him and they ate in silence.

"How's your arm?" Len asked when they finished eating.

Rin was caught off guard. "Uh, fine," she answered, too late to be convincing.

Len raised an eyebrow and Rin quickly changed the subject before he could take it further.

"How's your rib?"

"Better than ever," Len lied with a forced smile.

Rin jumped up to her feet and stood in front of him. He stared up at her, his eyes curious.

"I think we should stay here until your rib gets better," she declared solemnly.

"No." His tone was final.

"But-" Rin began before Len cut her off.

"I'm fine."

Rin sighed. "No, you are clearly not fine. You can lie all you want, but I can tell by the look on your face that it hurts to fucking breathe."

His eyes dropped to the floor. She had him.

"I can handle it," he muttered, almost as if he were trying to convince himself.

Rin sighed again and sat down beside him.

"Len, as a human being, there's only so much you can do."

She felt him laugh before groaning. "I suppose so. But, we can't stay here; it's too dangerous. We have to find a way out. Plus, we'll run out of water soon enough."

He had a point; but, Rin was stubborn.

"Then we can find both those things. After you're better."

"Fine." He switched his gaze to her. "Then, keep going without me." His face was serious.

"No," Rin said, offering no place for discussion.

"Then we'll both go." End of discussion.

Rin scowled at him. But, she realized he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was staring at something behind her with wide, horror-struck eyes. Rin turned to look and stared as well. Miki's body had seemed to crystallize somehow.

Her body had split up into thousands of tiny little crystals that lay on the floor in the shape of a human being. Then, they darkened from Miki's dead skin color to pitch black. The mass of black then expanded slightly before exploding, sending shards of little black crystals flying in every direction.

Rin's first instinct was to protect her face with her hands. She expected for something to come flying, stabbing her, but nothing happened. She finally lowered her arms; all the crystals were gone without a trace.

"What the hell just happened?" Rin asked, stricken.

"I-I don't know." Len seemed just as confused as her. "They disappeared in thin air. How is that even possible?"

She detected traces of anger in his voice, though she understood.

"We should probably get out of here soon." Len was already standing to get the bag.

Rin's expression turned sour; she was still upset that Len wouldn't rest, at least for another little while. Len plopped back onto the floor, clutching his ribs with a pained face. This alarmed Rin, who rushed to help him up. She momentarily considered strapping him down into a chair to force him to sit, but decided against it; it seemed wrong somehow. Although it would probably work.

Once Len was standing on his own two feet, he limped towards the backpack, meaning to pick it up, but Rin beat him to it.

"If you're gonna walk around with a broken rib like an idiot, then I'm carrying the backpack," she said.

She could see Len was fighting a smile and tried not be insulted by it. He opened his mouth and she expected him to laugh, but instead, all he said was, "Okay."


	15. Chapter 15: Sickness

****_Hey. Here's another chapter. Sorry it took a while to update. I've been busy. Anyway, enjoy and leave a review =3_

**Chapter 15: Sickness**

When the sound of Gumi's scream rifled through the air, Gakupo almost didn't go through with it. Luka was pinning down Gumi's legs, and Meiko, her arms. But, she still struggled against them as Gakupo lit one of the matches. He hesitated, but Luka's eyes urged him forwards.

"Do it," she whispered.

He pushed the edges of Gumi's wound together. They ran from halfway up her right thigh, all the way down to her ankle. Two knives had been used to cut them; one on the inside of her leg and the other on the outside. He decided to start with the inside gash, which seemed to be the one bleeding the most.

He hesitated before directing the flame on the match near the wound. Gumi's screams were heart-wrenching, and he had to will himself not to throw up. The skin melted, searing itself shut. Finally, Gumi stopped yelling, passing out from the pain. This made it easier.

Gakupo quickly continued down her leg, knowing he didn't have a lot of time before Gumi bled out. Match after match, he melted the skin to shut the wound in a sloppy and painful manner. After a few minutes, he was done; it looked horrible, the skin bumpy and bubbly looking, still warm and red. It still bled, but not nearly as much as before.

"Luka, do we have any bandages?" Gakupo asked, looking for a way to make sure Gumi could survive with that leg until she got proper medical attention.

Luka handed him some bandages without saying a word. He cleaned to wounds thoroughly with water, cooling down the boiling hot skin at the same time before wetting the bandages with disinfectant and wrapping them around Gumi's leg.

"This won't keep out infection for very long," Gakupo stated, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"It's all we can do for now," Luka said to comfort him. "What she needs now is to rest."

.

.

.

"You know it's illegal, right?" Len casually stated as he and Rin slowly walked through the halls of this seemingly endless school.

Well, you could say Len was more or less limping around, not really walking, because of his broken rib. They often needed to stop to rest because the effort tired him out very quickly. Although he didn't say anything, Rin could tell he was in a lot of pain. She wanted to stop until he was well enough to walk, but he refused, saying it would be better to find a way out first. Then, he would take care of the rib.

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked, confused at the random statement.

He smiled. "Incest. It's illegal."

Oh. Well, that was news to her. She felt herself blush furiously and looked at the ground. Len chuckled. She'd only just found out Len had feelings for her and although it made her so happy it was almost shameful, she wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it yet.

"Nobody has to know…" Rin muttered, more to herself.

Len laughed again. "I was kinda hoping you would say that."

A silence settled between them, which Rin interpreted as awkward. But, seeing the look on Len's face, he didn't share the same opinion. Rin decided to ask the question she'd been wanting to ask for a while now.

"Len?" Rin said in a small voice. "What exactly did you do to Miki?"

Len cast her a sidelong glance before staring up at the ceiling. "I cut her from her strings."

All that did was confuse Rin even more. He seemed to sense it because he laughed and started explaining.

"I woke up in time to see you shoot Miki in the stomach. At first, I thought she kept moving because she wasn't quite dead yet, but then she never really did die. So, I tried to think of a way where that could be possible, since everyone dies after getting shot in the stomach. Then it hit me; Miki couldn't play the piano either, which meant someone had to be making her do it. She was a doll, Rin. I saw some invisible strings hanging on the ceiling and attached to these little metal things in her joints. We didn't see them because we hadn't been looking for them. So, all I did was cut those strings."

Rin was impressed. She never would have thought about Miki being a doll. She remembered that Miki had been crying and laughing before smacking Len. She'd still been alive until Rin shot her in the head. Rin felt bad, but not because she'd killed Miki; because Miki had to have suffered so much pain.

"It must've been horrible…" Rin mumbled out loud.

"Yeah," Len answered.

She remembered that he probably knew what it must be like to be forced to hurt people you care about against your will. He took her hand and squeezed it, smiling at her, as if to let her know everything would be alright.

.

.

.

Gumi opened her eyes. She squinted, giving her eyes time to adjust to the light. When she finally managed to focus her gaze on the ceiling, she realized two things; first, she was incredibly thirsty. Second, her leg ached and burned horribly. She tried propping herself up against the wall, every movement sending more pain shooting up through her leg.

"Hello?" Gumi croaked, her throat raw.

She finally managed to rest her back against the wall. She looked around; no one was there.

"Hello?" she asked, louder this time.

Panic began settling in when no one answered once more. She heard footsteps then and began feeling hopeful and happy, before reminding herself it could be whoever had cut open her leg. The memory sent another flash of pain surging through her body, though it was more mental than physical this time.

"Gumi? You awake?" Meiko asked, rounding the corner of the hallway.

Gumi should have been full of relief, but that wasn't how she felt. Luka's warning about a murderer came to mind. _Stop being silly,_ she ordered herself. _Meiko's not a murderer._ Meiko stopped, standing a few feet away from where Gumi sat.

"How are you feeling?" Meiko asked, a huge smile printed on her face.

"Fine," Gumi mumbled, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Why was she feeling so unsettled? So afraid? It was Meiko for God's sake! Just Meiko. Not the psychotic people who'd trapped them in this horrible place.

"Well, you must be really thirsty," Meiko said, crouching to reach into one of the backpacks.

Gumi had a horrible thought of Meiko pulling out a knife and gouging her eyes out with it. Her fear was completely irrational, but she couldn't help it.

"NO!" Gumi screamed, panicked.

Meiko whipped her head to stare at Gumi, with a frown on her face.

"Gumi?" Luka's voice yelled from somewhere not too far.

She began to hear footsteps getting closer. Meiko quickly pulled something out of the backpack and walked towards her. Gumi shrieked and squeezed her eyes shut just as Luka rounded the corner.

"Meiko! What are you doing?" Luka yelled, panicked.

Gumi opened one eye; Meiko was handing her a bottle of water.

"Just gettin' Gumi here a drink," she answered plainly.

Gumi took the bottle from Meiko, relieved that she was only imagining things and that Meiko wasn't trying to kill her. But then, a strange glint flashed inside Meiko's eyes, disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. Maybe she'd just imagined things. Again.

.

.

.

Rin and Len were stuck in the school. They couldn't find the way out. The wandered aimlessly through the hallways and staircases, but no exit showed itself. And, Len was getting worse every hour. His broken rib was finally taking its toll on him. Their breaks became longer and longer, and Len walked more and more slowly.

As for Rin, she wasn't doing well either. Her arm was constantly burning, and she was starting to feel weaker. She pretended everything was all right so as not to worry Len, but he'd noticed that she wasn't feeling quite right. She couldn't bring herself to use their precious water to clean her wound while Len slept. At this point, she doubted it would've helped anyway.

"Rin, I know that you're not okay," Len declared, stopping to stare at her.

"What do you mean?" Rin lied. "I'm totally fine."

"No, you're not. Your skin is pretty much white and you look like you're about to faint."

"Len, I'm fine."

Len bit his lip. He didn't believe her at all. Anger flared up inside Rin. Why was he allowed to not care about himself? Why was it that when she wasn't feeling alright, it was the end of the world? Why was it okay for him to be walking around sick and not her?

"Let me see it," Len ordered quickly and quietly.

"See what?" Rin asked, feigning confusion.

"The cut, Rin," Len sighed.

"My cut?" Rin said, pretending to be surprised. "Why do you want to see my cut?"

"Because it's the only thing I can think of that could've made you sick."

"My cut is fine Len." Rin began walking again. "And I'm not sick."


	16. Chapter 16: Crushed

****_I know this chapter took a little while to arrive, but it's just that I haven't really been feeling like writing lately... :( I don't really know why, but whatever. Anyway, enjoy and leave a review. Hopefully, there'll be more chapters in a little bit._

**Chapter 16: Crushed**

"Are you okay Gumi?" Ia asked, concerned. "Wanna stop?"

"No. I'm fine," Gumi grunted, her face scrunched up in pain.

Ia stared at her with a worried look but didn't protest. She knew Gumi already felt bad enough for slowing everyone down with her injured leg; it made sense that she was trying hard to tough it out.

The now-small group of people walked aimlessly around the hospital, looking for any sign of Teto or an exit. Ia had insisted on being the one who would serve as Gumi's crutch, but Gakupo was convinced that Ia would tire eventually and need someone to help her. So, Ia and Haku had decided to take turns helping Gumi walk. It slowed things down a little bit, but Gumi was a tough girl and was managing alright.

"Everybody stop," Luka said sinisterly.

They all stopped walking, wondering what was wrong. Then, they saw it too. A few feet in front of them was another one of those large windows leading into a room that would normally hold patients. They'd come across quite a few of them, which was normal, since they were in a hospital. But, unlike the others, there were no lights illuminating the inside of this room. They could tell from where they stood that it was pitch black. Well, almost pitch black. A faint red light almost seemed to shine from within the room.

Fear gripped Ia's heart. Without even realizing it, she had begun clinging to Gumi tighter than before.

"I-I'll go check it out," Gakupo declared, his voice wavering slightly.

Nobody tried to hold him back. He walked towards the window, taking cautious steps towards it. Once he was close enough, he looked inside and instantly froze.

"No," he muttered.

He bolted the rest of the way to the window and began smashing his fists helplessly against the glass, just like he had the first time they'd seen Teto in the hospital.

"NO!" he screamed. "NO!"

The group rushed to him, Ia and Gumi struggling to keep up. It only took a second to cross the distance that separated them from Gakupo, but the scene was horrifying; unfortunately, they'd found Teto once again. She was behind the glass, the glass that wouldn't break, tied down to a hospital bed. She struggled against her restraints, screaming. For some reason, they couldn't hear her though.

She turned to them, finally realizing they were there, even though Gakupo had been smashing the window for the past minute. She screamed for them to help her, but they couldn't hear her, only seeing her mouth the words. Her head whipped back to look behind her, reacting to a noise they couldn't hear. Ia strained to see who was attacking her, but all she could see was Teto and her hospital bed; everything else around her was a thick fog of darkness.

Then the most horrible thing happened; a long, mechanical arm was shoved down Teto's throat. She screamed silently, thrashing in her bed, her eyes opened wide and staring at the ceiling.

"TETO!" Ia screamed, though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to hear.

Neru and Haku had backed up against the wall, staring in horror at the scene. Gakupo and Luka were both standing in front of the window, looking helpless and terrified. Teto lay on her bed, seeming dazed. She'd stopped screaming, but her eyes a body twitched strangely. The arm violently came back out, bringing something with it; some red hunk of flesh, dripping with Teto's blood.

Teto's body fell back, lifeless, on the bed. Blood dripped out of her mouth, staining the white linen of the sheets. Ia fought away her tears. And then, she realized what the red mass on the end of the mechanical arm was; Teto's heart. She let go of Gumi, who stumbled and steadied herself with the wall, and turned around, throwing up.

"Oh my god," Luka muttered as the others realized what had just happened.

Luka sunk down to the floor as Neru and Haku also threw up. Gakupo stared in complete shock as he stumbled backwards, away from the window. Gumi averted her gaze, fighting the urge to heave. As for Meiko, she quickly grabbed hold of Gumi.

"Let's get out of here," she told everyone.

No one spoke as they shuffled away from the horrible scene.

.

.

.

Len was really starting to break down. His rib ached and throbbed so much, he didn't know how much more he could take. But, every time he was in the verge to give up, he remembered why he couldn't; he needed to make sure Rin was safe. So he continued along, toughing out the pain.

Rin coughed. She'd been coughing quite a bit. Len knew there was something wrong; he also knew it had something to do with her arm. But she wouldn't let him help her, so he only prayed it was nothing too serious. He stopped when he heard a loud thump behind him

"Rin!" he yelled, rushing to the slumped figure on the ground.

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow.

"Rin, please wake up," Len begged.

Her eyes fluttered open. They appeared dazed at first, but, as her breathing returned to normal, her eyes focused on his face. She seemed troubled by what she saw there.

"What's wrong, Len?" she asked. Did she not even realize she had just fainted?

"What do you mean, 'What's wrong?' You just fainted!"

She frowned. "Did I really?" And then, she smiled at him, making him want to smack her. "Well, I'm fine now. Let's go."

Len gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, no. That's enough. We aren't moving one more step until you let me see your arm."

She didn't protest. Instead, her smile grew wider. "Great! Now you can rest your rib."

Len blinked, unsure what to respond. His plan had backfired. Majorly.

He stood up and helped his sister get her feet underneath her. They started walking again. Len's shoulders were slumped and he stared angrily at the floor, but Rin, on the other hand, smiled beside him. He glanced up at her; it was hard to stay angry when she looked like this.

"You know, I really hate you sometimes," he said without conviction.

Rin grabbed his hand, smiling at him. "No you don't. You love me."

He sighed, his anger fading. "Yeah, that's true too."

.

.

.

_Finally, the exit, _Gakupo thought warily. He looked behind him; everyone was following, Gumi and Ia a little bit further back. He walked towards the door when the ground beneath him started shaking.

"What the hell is this?" he yelled as he tried to maintain his balance. The others looked just as confused as he did. And then, Neru's voice started screaming over the noise of the shaking.

"Gakupo! I got another message!" she screamed, terrified.

"What does it say?" he asked.

"Survival of the fittest!" she answered, confusion in her voice.

To Gakupo, it was clear as day; the next target was Gumi. At that moment, Gakupo realized what the cause of all the shaking was; a wall he hadn't noticed before was closing itself, blocking off their exit. It slowly inched towards the left side of the hall, menacing to keep them trapped in the hospital forever. Then, he understood.

"Gumi!" Gakupo yelled as he turned around with a panicked look on his face.

She was too far; with her injured leg, she would never make it in time. Gakupo gritted his teeth. There was only one thing he could do; save as many as possible.

"EVERYBODY!" he shouted. They turned to look at him. "MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE WALL! WE HAVE TO GET ON THE OTHER SIDE BEFORE IT CLOSES!"

Without waiting to see if the others were following, he ran to the wall as quickly as he dared. He stumbled numerous times because of the shaking, but didn't fall. Before crossing to the other side of the wall, which now blocked off half the hallway, he turned to see to others coming towards him.

Luka was there first; she stepped behind the wall, quickly followed by Neru and Haku. Meiko came shortly after. The wall was now only a few inches away from the wall. But, still Gumi hadn't reached them. It occurred to Gakupo that Ia hadn't crossed over either. Could she…? Gakupo stared horrified. Ia was running towards them quickly, half-carrying and half-dragging Gumi behind her.

Gakupo glanced behind him; they didn't have much time. He joined the others on the other side of the wall, knowing he couldn't wait for his other two friends. The wall was nearly shut when Ia and Gumi finally reached them. Ia pushed Gumi through the small space with the help of Luka. She then proceeded to pushing her way through. Alas, there wasn't enough space.

Half of Ia's body had made it across when she ended up trapped, the wall squeezing her tightly. Impossibly, it kept moving, crushing the half of Ia's body the was sandwiched between the two walls. Gakupo grabbed her hand and pulled as hard as he could, but Ia didn't budge.

"Help!" Ia screamed desperately as the wall continued to squash her. "Hel-" Blood spat out from her mouth rather than words. The sound of a cracking ribcage filled the air. No sound came from Ia as half her body was being crushed between two opposing forces. Gakupo stared, stunned into stillness. Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, the wall finally reached its destination, cutting Ia in half. The parts of her that hadn't been squashed slipped down to the floor in mess of blood oozing out from the both crushed and un-crushed halves of the body. One of Ia's eyes stared up at him widely, almost making him believe she was alive. But, he knew that was impossible; her guts were spilling out of the side of her body, mixing into a pile of blood, bone bits and guts.

"L-let's go," Gakupo mumbled, fighting the urge to throw up.

The others nodded, offering no resistance.


	17. Chapter 17: Poison

****_Hey! So, uh, those of you who have read some of our other stories might have noticed that lately, I've been hacking 'Rin's' story, who then decided to threaten me into letting her hack one of 'Neru's' stories... Well, this has no relevance whatsoever on you, so I honestly have no idea why I just told you that, but anyway, it doesn't matter. I have nothing else to say. So, enjoy this next chapter and leave a review =3_

**Chapter 17: Poison**

When Rin woke up, she nearly had a heart attack; they'd fallen asleep in one of the classrooms, as usual, but the classroom was gone, replaced by another room roughly the same size. The walls here were white with overhead lights that buzzed annoyingly. A dozen chairs were lined up against a wall, facing a reception desk. A long hallway stretched opposite of her and her twin, turning off into two directions. _A hospital, _Rin realized.

She was about to wake Len up to ask him about how they ended up here before noticing a small water fountain by the desk. She crawled over to it, trying not to get her hopes up. To her big surprise, it worked. She let out a small cry of victory and was about to wake up Len before deciding against it; it was a good time to wash her cut without using any of their precious water.

She un-bandaged it; the gash was worse. The blue had spread further, spider-webbing on her arm. All the veins around her cut were black and stretched out even more than before. The injury was completely unhealed, still red and sticky. She ran the water over it; it felt nice.

"Rin?" Len's voice startled her.

She jumped, desperately trying to hide her arm from him, but she knew she was done for; there was no way she could hide it anymore.

"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

She stared at the floor, avoiding his eyes and hiding her arm behind her back. But, the bandage was on the floor, and she knew he could see the fresh blood on it.

"Nothing," she lied unconvincingly.

Len bit his lip, obviously pissed off and frustrated. "Lemme me see it," he ordered bitterly.

She sighed, handing him her arm in defeat. Her grabbed it gently and kneeled down to look at it. His grip tightened then as he stared at her in horror.

"Rin, what the hell is this?" he cried out, bewildered.

She didn't answer, only looked away from his angry eyes.

"GODDAMN IT RIN!" he shouted, losing his calm. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?"

"I… d-didn't want to worry you…" she whispered, flinching underneath his anger.

He stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth in front of her as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Len," Rin began.

"Don't." He stopped in front of her, glaring angrily. "Just don't."

He turned around, resuming his pacing, his hands balled up into fists at his sides as he tried to calm himself. Rin only stared, wanting to feel angry with him, but only feeling guilt, though she didn't really know why.

"Len, I'm really sorry," she tried again.

He stopped pacing again to stare at her. His anger had toned down a bit, but was still clearly there. She saw fear there too, and that confused her. Why was he afraid?

"You are a _complete _idiot, you know that?" His tone was bitter and slightly mocking. "You… why would you do that? Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was low and quiet, but harsh, every word stabbing at her.

"I just didn't want-" she tried to say before he cut her off.

"That's not an excuse Rin!" he snapped. "That's just you not using your brain! Or, maybe you just don't have one?"

Rin flared up. He had no right to insult her! He was doing to exact same thing!

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to be hurt? If there something wrong with me, we have to take care of it, make sure _everything_ is fine! But with you, _nooo_. With you, it doesn't matter. With you, we don't _need_ to do anything, don't_ need_ to _worry_ about it. A cut on the arm, _that's_ something to be worried about, but a _BROKEN RIB _is no reason to _STOP WALKING!"_ Her voice dripped with sarcasm, getting louder near the end. "You know what? FUCK YOU LEN! _FUCK YOU!"_

Len's hands shook as he stared at her, his eye hard and cold. "That's not the same thing."

"Not the same thing?" Rin replied with a bitter laugh before he could continue. "How is that _not the same goddamn thing?"_

"BECAUSE RIN!" he yelled. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself. When they opened again, Rin saw the pain and fear dominating in them rather than anger. "Y-you have blood-poisoning," he hissed, his voice strained and choked. "It's gonna kill you."

.

.

.

They'd seen their friends dead before. They'd even seen Teto die right in front of them, her heart getting ripped out through her throat. But this was different. It was so much more _brutal _than anything they'd experienced since coming to this place. She'd been _cut in half._ No, even that wasn't the right way to put it. She'd been _crushed in half, _her guts spilling out of the un-crushed half of her, splattering onto the floor and mixing in with the pieces of her that oozed out from between the two walls-. _Enough, _Gakupo ordered himself.

They were out of the hospital now, but everyone was so stunned by what happened to Ia that none of them could bring themselves to be happy. Especially Gumi, who seemed traumatized that Ia gave her life to save her. Everyone knew that Gumi was supposed to die, not Ia. But Ia had trumped the game; she hadn't let all the horror reach her and had remained faithful to her friends. What would happen to Gumi now, they didn't know. Maybe the game would try to kill her again, or maybe in the end, she would come out the winner. Who knows?

Then a horrible thought flashed in his head; only one person could win. Clearly, that meant everyone else had to die. He glanced at Luka, who was staring blankly at the wall in front of her. He had to protect her. Even if he needed to kill the others to do so, he had to protect her. _No,_ he thought. _I can't kill my friends, can I?_

"What do you think happened to Rin and Len," Luka asked, not looking at him.

"They're probably dead," he answered bleakly, hating himself for hoping they were.

"That's impossible," she replied, sounding completely sure.

"How is that impossible? Half of us are dead, how could they survive being only two?"

"If the game had killed them, we would've learned about it through Neru's phone. But, there hasn't been a message that wasn't followed by a death in our group. Which means the game didn't kill them. And they certainly didn't kill each other," she explained with a emotionless voice.

"I guess you're right," Gakupo answered, feeling some of his guilt fade. "That's good then."

Luka's tears then began flowing down her cheeks as she buried her face in her arms, hugging her legs against her chest.

"Luka," Gakupo gently said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer.

She clung to him, crying into his chest.

"I'm a horrible person!" she sobbed, her voice muffled by Gakupo's shirt.

"No," Gakupo countered.

"Gakupo," Luka croaked, her voice hoarse from all her crying. "I want them to be dead. I'm scared, and I want them to be dead!" Her voice hitched up an octave at the end and she started sobbing again.

Gakupo tightened his hold on her. "Shh," he comforted. "It's okay. I understand. Shh." He kissed the top of her head, petting her long pink hair.

She lifted her chin and kissed him, almost desperately. He returned her kiss, wishing everything could disappear but this. He kissed away the tears clinging to her cheeks, but her eyes remained red and puffy. He kissed her lips again and hugged her close, wondering what would happen to them.

.

.

.

When Len had told her that her cut was going to kill her, she refused to believe him; he was being overly dramatic because he was mad at her. But, the pain in his eyes, the fear, had eventually convinced her that it was true. So what did she do? She argued more, effectively pissing Len off all over again.

"It wouldn't have mattered whether I told you or not; I still would've gotten blood poisoning," she declared, though she had no idea why she was fighting with him. Maybe it was to keep her mind from remembering that she was going to die.

Len, who was shaking with anger, whipped around and crossed the distance between them in just a few strides. Because Rin was still sitting down, he had to kneel in front of her to put himself at eye-level. He smashed his palms against the wall on either side of her head.

"If you had told me before," he hissed between his teeth. "Maybe we could have avoided it. Maybe you wouldn't have to fucking die."

That's right. She was going to die. Unable to help herself, Rin's tears welled up into her eyes, and then fell down her cheeks.

"I-I don't want to d-d-die," Rin whispered.

Len's eyes softened at the sight of her tears. The anger was washed away, replaced with guilt and sadness. He pulled Rin into his arms and she cried into his chest, her small figure shaking with heart-wrenching sobs. Len patted her hair and kissed the top of her head while Rin clung to him desperately.

"I love you," Len said, fighting tears of his own. "I love you so much."


	18. Chapter 18: Loss

**Chapter 18: Loss**

With Ia gone, Haku had offered to take charge of Gumi, along with Neru's help when Haku got tired. A heavy silence followed the small group as they continued making their way down the hall with the greenish-blue lights. Gakupo idly wondered how Rin and Len were doing, who the killer in their group was – and if there really was one – and what would happen to Gumi since the last trick laid down by the game hadn't killed her.

All his thinking was suddenly cut off when Neru's shaky and frightened voice cut through the heavy silence that had been floating in the air.

"Gakupo, look," she cried, showing him yet another message on her phone.

_The Game will soon come to an end. _The words sent chills down Gakupo's spine, though he didn't understand the message fully. He knew someone was going to die soon, but he couldn't figure out who was the next target. The message was too cryptic. What could it mean that the game was soon ending? That everyone was going to die soon? That seemed like the most logical explanation.

The phone he'd been staring at suddenly disappeared from under his nose as Neru's shrill scream, accompanied by Haku's, rifled through the air. He looked down; the ground had disappeared under Neru's feet. He quickly grabbed hold of her hand before she could fall. Haku's scream faded away; no one had been quick enough to catch her.

"D-don't let go!" Neru screamed, clinging to his arm with both hands as she dangled above an abyss.

"Luka! Meiko! Please help me!" Gakupo shouted desperately, feeling Neru's hand slipping out of his grip.

"I'm a little busy!" Meiko replied. "Gumi fell through the floor!"

"I'm coming!" Luka answered, rushing over to help him.

Her scream then ripped through the air as the floor beneath her feet also disappeared. She grabbed onto the side, holding on tightly; but her hands were slipping.

"Gakupo!" she called, panicked and terrified.

Gakupo glanced behind him, momentarily releasing pressure on Neru's arm. That was all it took; Neru's hand finally slipped out of his hold. He whipped back around, his eyes wide as Neru, who seemed shocked, silently fell into the darkness.

"NO!" he yelled.

"Gakupo," Luka whimpered.

He rushed to her and helped her back up. Then, they hurried over to Meiko; she was standing up already, and Gumi was gone as well.

"Damn it," Meiko sighed, sounding frustrated. "God. Fucking. Damn it." She looked at her friends. "I-I couldn't… I wasn't strong enough… S-she…" She stared at them desperately.

"I know," Gakupo answered.

He was stunned; stunned that he'd let Neru go, that she'd been there, begging for his help, but that he'd _let go._ Three of them were gone, all in one go. The phone was also no longer in their possession. The game really _was _soon ending. Now, there was only him, Meiko, and Luka left. Everyone else was dead. _Dead._ The word rung in Gakupo's head, but his mind was unable to grasp its meaning anymore. He felt numb. He felt… _dead._

.

.

.

As Neru fell, dozens of emotions ran through her body; hate towards Gakupo, relief to finally be able to escape the nightmare, fear of dying, worry for her friends as well as a sense of abandonment. She didn't scream, only shut her eyes and waited for her fall to end.

.

.

.

Len had hoped that the time Rin fainted had been nothing serious, and that her coughing had been nothing to worry about, but he now knew that wasn't the case; they were signs of Rin's deteriorating health caused by the blood-poisoning. He had no idea how long she would last, but there was one sure thing; they needed to get out, and fast.

After his initial anger towards Rin had toned down, he decided that even though they had water where they were, they weren't staying longer than necessary. His reasons were rather simple; first, he wanted to get Rin to a proper hospital as quickly as possible; second, he had no idea how they'd gone from being in a school to a deserted hospital, and he didn't want to linger in one place to find out.

Rin had allowed Len to clean her arm and pack everything. She was obviously depressed; her eyes were sad and stared at nothing; she'd given up on herself. He didn't know what to do, what to say, and decided it was best to give her some space. After resting for a little while, Len woke up his sister and they both left wordlessly.

Len had almost forgotten about his rib, but walking through the white hospital halls had reminded him he was injured as well. He felt irrational frustration towards himself for letting his body get injured, but he shoved those feelings away, not wanting them to cloud his mind.

After a few minutes, Rin took his arm and clung to it, her feet stumbling slightly.

"Rin, are you okay?" Len asked worriedly, grabbing his sister to steady her.

"I'm dizzy," she answered warily, as if she weren't really there. "I feel really tired."

Len looked at her with concern; she was tired after just a few minutes of walking? He noticed her skin was pale, and her eyelids droopy; the blood-poisoning was weakening her.

"Can I just…" she began, biting her lip. "Can I just lean on you? While we walk?" She sounded tired and worn. And sad, as well.

"Of course," he answered softly.

Len continued to walk, but at a much slower pace. Rin leaned some of her weight on him, but he didn't really mind; so long as she didn't fall over and die, he didn't care what she did. As they continued down the hallway, they came across a window leading in a hospital room. Len paid no mind to it, since they'd already seen several just like it; they were in a hospital after all.

But, as they walked closer, Len noticed something was different. The lights were off in this room, unlike the other ones, where the lights had been on. Although the lights were indeed turned off, he could still see a pale glow coming from the inside. He slowed Rin, who obviously didn't notice anything; her head was sort of just hanging on her neck and her eyes were distant. He felt a slight instance of panic, but kept his calm.

As he approached the room, his stomach started to churn with worry and fear, but he kept moving quietly. Rin seemed to have noticed something was off and was now trying her best to walk quietly; but, her feet still dragged a little on the floor. When they'd finally arrived near the window, Len took a look inside and let out a yelp of surprise.

"Len?" Rin inquired slowly. "Is everything alright?"

He looked down at her and smiled. "Um, yeah. I guess so… but, take a look."

Rin peered inside. "What…? What's _that _doing there?"

"I have no idea," Len shrugged. "I'll… go take a look." He made a step towards the door leading into the room.

"Are you crazy!" Rin yelled. "It's obviously a trap! You can't go in there!"

Len placed his hand on Rin's shoulders when her body swayed, threatening to fall sideways.

"I know Rin, I'm not stupid," Len explained. "But, I think I have a pretty good idea of what that is. And if I'm right, then we _really _need it. Just wait here for me."

He sat her down across from the window; Rin didn't fight, not having the energy to do so.

"Just… be careful," Rin whispered as her eyes fluttered shut.

"I will," Len answered, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."

She answered with a smile. Len turned back around and stared into the room again.

The room was almost empty. Well, actually, it was too dark to see anything. But, in the center of the room was a small table. A faint light lit up the small table, its source invisible. And on top of the table was a small bottle containing medicine. Medicine to fight against blood-poisoning. Len put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath before turning it.

.

.

.

Neru opened her eyes, and at first, she didn't move, too stunned by the fact that she was still alive. Her mind swirled, trying to remember how she'd gotten here, but her brain was devoid of that particular memory. She sat up and looked at her surroundings, feeling slightly dizzy as she did.

The place was creepy, like one of those dark rooms you'd expect to find in a video game or a movie. _Video game, _Neru thought with a humourless laugh. She stood up, and as she did, lights turned on in the farthest part of the room, revealing a table with Haku tied down to it. Her wrists were bound together over her head, and her ankles were also tied together with thick ropes. Neru rushed over to her friend.

Haku was slowly regaining consciousness while Neru frantically tried to rid her joints of the ropes; but it was vain; the knots were intricate and tight. Neru's phone buzzed and she froze, her eyes widening in horror. With a shaky hand, she flipped it open and stared at the message that came up on the screen. _She's going to be torn apart._

As Neru read, the sound of machinery came to her ears; something was moving inside the room. Neru didn't know what to think of the message. Normally, they were more cryptic, harder to decipher. But this time, the message was blunt and straight to the point. She had a feeling they were referring to Haku, which frightened her. Surely enough, the ropes bounding Haku's wrists and ankles stretched, pulling her in two opposite directions.

Neru knew what was going to happen but felt hopeless as her fingertips were ripped raw from clawing at the thick ropes. Haku didn't seem to be aware of anything yet; but it was only a matter of time before… well, before she'd be torn apart.


	19. Chapter 19: Medicine

_Hey! So, there hasn't really been any activity on our account because of Christmas and New Year's and all that jazz, but anyway. I haven't forgotten about this story! =3 Now that I'm not so busy, I'll try catching up on all these chapters I have to post for Neru and Rin. But jeez! RIN WRITES TOO MUCH! I may be incredibly slow, but Rin writes too much, too fast. I guess Neru is the only one who writes moderately. Anyway, these are my problems, not yours. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR! May this year bring many new wonderful fanfiction and Kagamine songs. Enjoy this chapter and leave a review!_

**Chapter 19: Medicine**

When Len first entered the room, nothing happened. He glanced around nervously, well aware that it was a trap. But he needed that medicine; it could save Rin's life. He took a cautious step towards the table and waited for something. But again; nothing happened. Slowly, he made his way to the table. He was halfway there when – unsurprisingly – the door slammed shut behind him.

Abandoning his caution, Len ran to the table and swiped the medicine off its top, shoving the bottle into a pocket of his backpack. Without pausing, he rushed back to the door, roughly grabbing the handle. He yanked as hard as he could, but the door remained shut. Cursing under his breath, he searched for something to smash the window with. It was too dark to see, so he felt the floor with his feet.

A muffled scream sounded from the other side of the glass window, unmistakably Rin's. Len whipped around, his eyes wide with horror. The lights in the hallway had gone out, plunging Rin in total darkness. A few seconds of total silence passed before she screamed again. But this time, she was cut off. Len, in a state of complete panic, searched his mind for something to do while he tried – unsuccessfully – to break through the glass with the back of his rifle.

Behind him, a whirring sound he knew he'd heard before began. Stopping his next swing, Len turned slowly on his heels. All light in the room had disappeared, and a small red dot was now the only thing that cut through the darkness. Before Len had a chance to react, something hard lashed out and struck him in the forehead. Dazed, he stumbled backwards into the window before falling to the floor, his vision blurring as he lost consciousness.

.

.

.

Neru sat in the corner of the room, trembling, with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands clamped over her ears. But that wasn't enough to blot out what was happening to Haku only a few feet away. Her shrill screams still made it to her ears, bouncing around in her head like a never-ending swarm of chaos. And the _tearing _noise. Neru could hear every ligament, every muscle, every bit of flesh tearing apart, along with a sickening crunch where the bones started splintering apart. And it just went on and on and on.

Finally, the noise subsided. Haku's scream finished in a gurgle as one large rip sounded, announcing Haku's death. Neru didn't dare move, too frightened. But then, a thought occurred to her; is that what would happen to her if she where to lose the game? Her head snapped up. She had to win. She stood up and caught a glimpse of Haku's remains, two pieces torn at the chest, covered in blood. She stared for a minute. She had to win. She began laughing.

"I have to win," she mumbled to herself, giggling. "I have to win. I have to win. I have to win…"

.

.

.

Len slowly woke up, his vision blurry, his head aching like never before. His mind still in dismay, he tried to sit up, but couldn't; his wrists were bound to the bed he was lying on. Although his memory was still frayed, he remembered enough to know that being tied down was very bad. He yanked at the ropes, but it did nothing but rip his wrists raw, to the point where they bled.

After a minute of desperate thrashing, he finally let his head fall back, fighting not to panic and keep a clear head. It was only then that he realized the presence of someone else. He turned his head to the right and saw another bed, with his unconscious sister laying down on it. She wasn't tied down like he was though. Probably because she posed no threat with the blood-poisoning weakening her.

If Rin was there, that meant she was in danger too. Len took a deep breath and shut his eye, looking for a way out of this.

"I have to free my hands," Len muttered to himself unconsciously.

_How the hell am I supposed to do that?_ he thought. Frustration and panic crawled its way to his heart, and he fought to stay calm. He started slowly turning his wrists, pulling away a little at the same time. The rough rope scraped against his already cut up wrists, and pain shot up his arms. But he could feel the ropes slowly moving further down his hands, so he continued until he reached an impasse; the ropes were too tight and wouldn't pass over his thumbs.

Len lay there, thinking of a way to free himself. His thumbs were in the way. Maybe if he could dislocate one, his hand could get through and then he could untie the other hand. But how was he supposed to do that with one hand? Another thought occurred to him. He could use the bed to break his thumb towards the inside of his hand. He hit his thumb as hard as he could against the bed, but it didn't break; he couldn't get enough momentum with his hands tied down.

So, he placed his thumb against the side of the bed. If he pushed hard enough, he could probably break the bone and push his thumb towards the inside of his hand. He pressed against the metal as hard as he could, sucking in a sharp breath as a dry crack sounded. He continued his maneuver from before, groaning in pain as the rope squashed his newly broken bone. _A rib and a thumb, _he thought humorlessly.

Finally, his hand came free. He yelped in victory, grinning hugely, and quickly started working at the ropes on his other hand, which proved to be rather difficult with his impaired thumb. The knots were intricate and rather tight, and he realized there was absolutely no way he would be able to untie them. He sat up, looking through the darkness. Beside his bed, the backpack he and Rin had always carried lied with its contents spilling onto the floor. Someone had searched it.

He bent over in a rather uncomfortable position since one of his hands and both his feet were still tied down, and made reaching down difficult. But, he managed to grab the first-aid kit, which he knew contained scissors. He hoped whoever had tied him here hadn't thought of checking in there for sharp objects. He sighed in relief when he spotted the silver weapon still in the box.

He picked it up and used it as a knife since his broken thumb made it impossible to use scissors properly. A minute passed and the cut ropes slid off his wrist, effectively freeing his hands of their bounds. He sat up and worked away the ropes tying his feet down. Without wasting a second, he jumped off his bed and rushed to his sister.

He looked her over. Other than a bad bruise on her forehead, she seemed unharmed. He remembered the cut and checked her breathing and pulse; both were weak, but she was alive. There was still time to save her now that the medicine was in his possession.

"The medicine!" he whispered, suddenly terrified that someone had taken it when they searched his backpack. He ran back, and looked into the pocket he remembered placing it in. Len sighed in relief as his hand met the small circular bottle. He shoved everything into the backpack and slung it onto his back. It was more than time to leave.

A whirring noise began, and in the quiet of the room, Len noticed it immediately. It was familiar to him. That stupid sound was always around when something bad happened. He searched the darkness for the red dot of light he knew would undeniably be there. He spotted it near Rin, making his heart skip a beat.

"RIN!" he yelled as he ran to his sister. He pulled her off the table and over his shoulder, sending pain shooting through his entire being as he was brutally reminded of his broken rib. He ignored it and started turning when a flash of metal grabbed Rin's ankle. Len yanked away, but the thing didn't let go.

_Shit! _Len thought, looking for something to save them. He spotted Rin's gun still strapped to her waist and grabbed it. He shot the metal, carefully making sure not to accidentally shoot his sister's leg. The machine held on and he shot it again and again until the metal broke off. Then, he ran off into the darkness as fast as his rib would allow him, Rin over his shoulder.


	20. Chapter 20: Light

****_Hey! So, here's a new chapter. I'm under the impression my chapters are short... Am I wrong? Does it even really matter? Probably not. Anyway. I, the great 'Len Kagamine', hear by order you to leave a review :3 I'm sorry, that was mean... Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 20: Light**

They all sat around in a circle staring at each other. It was time to talk, but none of them really knew how to start. So Luka decided she would.

"We're the last ones," she declared gravely.

Meiko and Gakupo nodded slowly. Neither of them continued though. Luka searched her mind for the best course of action and decided on doing a walkthrough of what happened so far, which pretty much just talked about their friends' deaths. It was hard, but it would help clear their minds to find a plausible hypothesis.

"Kaito," Luka said.

Meiko's head snapped up at the mention of his name. "What about Kaito?"

"He was the first one to die," Gakupo answered. "After the first message to Neru."

Meiko glared, but continued. "Miku. She died after the second message."

Luka shook her head. "The second message was when Lily disappeared. Assuming Lily's dead, Miku was the third to die after the third message." Gakupo and Meiko nodded in agreement.

"Ted," Gakupo continued. "He was the fourth to die, but he was murdered by someone in our group."

"SeeU was the fifth. Also murdered," Meiko continued.

Luka raised an eyebrow. "You believe me now?"

Meiko sighed. "At this point, I'm ready to believe anything."

Luka nodded. "Teto and Miki both disappeared at the same time after getting the fourth message."

"We never saw Miki after that, so I think we can assume she was the sixth to die," Gakupo added.

"Teto was the seventh," Meiko said. "Gumi was injured a little bit before she died."

"Ia was the eighth, after the fifth message, which was intended for Gumi." Gakupo took a pause. "It's strange that Gumi managed to defy the game. Everything was so calculated…"

"Gumi didn't defy the game," Luka corrected. "Ia did. She risked her life to save Gumi, something the game probably didn't expect her to do. Everything around here is made to make us go insane with despair."

Meiko laughed humorlessly. "Ia… She was always an optimist." The other two nodded sadly.

"The last message took Neru, Haku and Gumi all at the same time," Luka finished.

"They could still be alive," Meiko mumbled. But they all knew the odds were against them.

"So, I guess the question is who put us here and why," Gakupo noted thoughtfully.

"And who the murderer is. Or was," Luka added. Meiko and Gakupo looked at her with confused expressions.

"The last person murdered was SeeU," Luka explained. "The killer could've been anyone who was alive when she died. Which means it could be one of us, or it could've been someone else who is dead now."

"Yeah, but wouldn't the game want to keep alive the person who was killing?" Meiko suggested.

"That's true. But I have a theory," Luka answered. "When we told everyone about the murderer, it probably scared the person. Which is why they stopped killing. So the game might've gotten… pissed or something. Or the killer is one of us." The three looked at each other uneasily.

"Well, now that we've answered that, why are we here?" Gakupo said, trying to relieve the tension between the trio.

"Maybe it's some kind of government test or something," Meiko suggested. It sounded wild, but Luka was ready to consider everything.

"Maybe it's a lunatic," Gakupo added. They sat quietly for a while, thinking it through, but there was really no way to confirm anything.

Luka sighed, deciding that this probably wasn't really going anywhere. "Whatever the case is, we won't find out anything if we stay here. Let's just try to make it to the end… alive, if possible."

"Yeah, if possible," Meiko snorted. Both Gakupo and Luka looked at her meaningfully. In response she simply shrugged.

.

.

.

Len didn't really know how it happened, but after a while of running blindly through the darkness while carrying his sister, he finally smacked straight into a wall. His momentum sent him falling backwards roughly. Somehow, he managed to spare his unconscious sister and himself any serious injury.

He took a moment to rest, the adrenaline slowly leaving his system, sending wave after wave of pain radiating from his rib. He looked around and realized that they were in the same place as before; in front of the room containing the medicine. _Those damn shadows,_ Len thought.

He sat up and backtracked his way to the working water-fountain they'd found earlier. It seemed farther than he'd imagined, and he hated going backwards, but he didn't have much of a choice. Finally, with a relieved sigh, he found it.

He brought his sister to the fountain and unwrapped her arm. He cleaned it and disinfected it. Then he picked up the bottle of penicillin and read the instructions. He had to inject her with a massive dose in a place near the wound in order to heal blood-poisoning. It was the inject part that scared him.

God knows why their first-aid kit had a needle in it. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that first; he didn't know how to inject someone and he might accidentally kill her. Almost killing his sister by accident seemed to be part of his routine now. Second; there was no way the needle was sterile. How was he supposed to do this?

He calmed himself and use disinfectant to sterilise the needle as best as he could. He read the bottle and prepared the "massive dose". Now came the hard part; getting it into her system. Where was he supposed to inject her? He knew vaccines were given in the shoulder, but that didn't seem close enough to the wound. Junkies injected their drugs in the crook of the elbow, and IV's were often put into the wrist. He decided the go with the crook of her elbow because he couldn't see the veins there and it made him feel safer.

Carefully, he slid the needle into her skin, wincing slightly at the sight of it. _How deep am I supposed to push this in?_ Len thought. He realized how wrong it sounded and his mind drifted to more… unsavory things involving his sister. _How can I be thinking about this now?!_ he thought, turning red as he pushed the medicine into her system.

He put the needle away and stared at Rin. He was fully aware that it would take a while before the medicine acted, and that even when it did, it would take a while for her to recover completely. But still, he wanted it to work now.

"Rin, please be okay," he whispered desperately.

.

.

.

Rin was completely gone. She was totally out of it from the moment the lights went out and something hit her in the head. The weird thing was that she _knew._ She didn't feel, hear or see anything, but she knew that she was unconscious and that she needed to wake up. She also knew Len was nearby; she could feel his presence. She held onto that feeling, bathing in the warm glow that provided light, but she could feel it fading away, little by little. Still, she clung to that last shred of hope that proved she was still among the living.

How long she stayed that way, she didn't know. But at some point, the light disappeared, plunging her in total darkness. She began panicking. She didn't want to die. She wanted to stay with Len. _Len! _Rin tried to scream, to no avail. She was slipping away, she knew that. She searched for Len's presence again, but didn't find it. Was she so far gone that she couldn't feel his mind anymore?

Far away, she saw light. She started towards it, thinking it would be Len. But as it came closer to her, she realized that wasn't it at all; the warmth emanating from it was foreign. Not unpleasant, but foreign. Immediately after assessing that it wasn't Len, she realized what it was. Death. She turned and ran away from it. Between sweet, peaceful death and the in-between world of darkness, she chose the darkness. She kept running, but the light never disappeared.

Rin was beginning to give up, slowing her run, allowing the light to approach her. Maybe it really was too late. At that moment, another light appeared, opposite the one she'd just been running away from. She instantly knew it was Len. His warmth was there. She took a step towards him and felt a searing pain shoot through her entire body. She backed away, and the pain subsided.

Was that what it would be like if she woke up? Would that pain be there? It terrified her. Maybe it was better if she didn't wake up. She was about to leave towards painless death when Len's voice reached her.

"Rin, please be okay."

She brutally whipped around. No, she couldn't die. Len was still there, and he was waiting for her. Yes, there would be pain. Yes, there would be sadness. But, that didn't matter. She could handle it because Len would be there. Death would have to wait; she wasn't ready yet.

She balled up her fists and gritted her teeth, ready to face the pain. She went to the light, not the painless one that would free her, but the one where her brother was impatiently waiting for her, the one where she would have the warmth of his soul to soothe her. Pain shot through her entire body and mind as she approached it, eating away at her will like termites to a piece of wood. But among it all, Len's warmth kept her strong.

"Rin, please be okay." The sentence echoed in her being, encouraging her to continue, reminding her why she wanted to live. And suddenly, he was there; not the real Len, but a representation of his soul, which was, in a way, just as real. He smiled and offered his hand. She took it, embracing the warmth it brought, easing the pain, and followed him as he led her into his light.


	21. Chapter 21: Neru

****_Hola! He. Sorry. 'Neru' just returned from Costa Rica, and I'm a Spanish speaking mood. I actually really suck at Spanish. Anyway. So, I (obviously) wrote yet another chapter. Just for you guys. And 'Rin'. 'Rin' who is impatient and he won't stop nagging me about the mountains of things she wants me to correct. I have something to ask you guys, but I think I'll do that on my last chapter. Which is not the next one. And probably not the one after that. But soon-ish. Maybe I should just ask you now... Nah. I'll wait. Well, before I start ranting waaaaaay too much, I will terminate our one-sided communication. Leave a review so I don't feel so lonely and won't have to resort talking to myself! Enjoy! Ciao ~_

**Chapter 21: Neru**

The moment Rin's eyes fluttered open, Len flew to her. He smiled at her, his eyes expressing pure joy and his cheeks already stained with tears.

"Rin! Thank God you're alive," he carefully pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

Rin felt weak, her arm searing with pain. But she was so glad to be alive, to see Len again, she managed to smile and wrap her good arm around his waist. Tears streamed down her own face as she hugged her brother. After a moment, Len pulled away, looking at her with smiling eyes.

"I thought you were dead," Len whispered. "I thought I was too late."

Rin put her palm on his cheek, looking at him intently. She looked at every inch of his face, knowing that she would've died had it not been for him. She loved him so much it nearly drove her insane. To think that he loved her the same way.

Len leaned his forehead against hers, shutting his eyes as another tear rolled down his cheek.

"I love you," Len whispered again. "Don't ever do that again."

She smiled. "I promise." Her voice sounded thin and weak, even to her own ears.

Len pulled away from her, clearly still worried she might fall over and die at any second. He helped her sit up against the wall before handing her some water. She took a small sip before handing it back.

"Rin, drink as much as you need, we have plenty." He motioned to the working water fountain.

She smiled sheepishly and drank more, a little at a time so as not to upset her stomach. Len watched her carefully for any sign of distress. But, other than the pain in her arm and the weakness in her body, she felt much better.

"Don't worry so much," Rin said, trying to reassure her brother. "I feel much better."

"Your arm looks a lot better too. I think the penicillin worked." Len smiled.

"Can I see it?" Rin asked.

Len gave her a surprised look. "Uh, sure, I guess. If you want to."

He went to her and unwrapped her arm. She braced herself for the disgusting mess she remembered and was surprised at the cleanliness. Her cut wasn't red and gooey anymore, and it didn't seep out blood or any other substance. It was still an open wound, but it was clean and had a healthier color to it. What made her even happier was that the dark veins were gone. The penicillin had done its job and fought away the infection.

"How long have I been out for?" Rin wondered.

Len looked at her uneasily. "A while." She raised her eyebrows. "Look, I'm not sure," Len continued. "It's hard to tell time around here. You were out for a long time. Long enough for me to think you were dead and that I was tricking myself into believing you had a pulse."

Rin shook her head, smiling. She was about to reply when Len's head snapped up. She held her tongue, frowning. He didn't move and Rin held her breath to try hearing what Len was hearing. And she did; footsteps.

"Someone's coming," Len whispered, picking up her gun. His rifle was gone and Rin found herself wondering how it happened. He pointed the gun at the hallway the footsteps came from, ready to shoot. He seemed a lot more comfortable with guns than before.

The person was close now. They could hear the breathing too. Whoever it was had been running for a while. The footsteps rounded the corner. Rin saw the long blonde hair, pulled into a ponytail on the side of her head, and instantly recognized the girl.

"Neru?!" Rin yelled a bit too loudly.

Neru yelped, clearly not having realized they were there. She froze, noticing the gun Len was still pointing at her face. She stared at the twins with a frightened look, her eyes darting back and forth between the two figures.

Rin looked to her brother in shock. Why was he still pointing the gun at Neru's face? His stare was cold and calculating, not in the least happy to see a friend.

"Len! Put the gun down! Can't you see you're scaring her?" Rin demanded angrily.

"Shut up," Len hissed before turning his attention to Neru. "What are you doing here?"

Neru flinched at the harsh tone he was using and whimpered.

"Len!" Rin yelled, outraged. She stood up with difficulty, but finally managed to get her feet underneath her. She saw Len's eyes flick to her with worry momentarily before snapping back to Neru. She walked to where he was standing. Just doing that tired her out.

"Len, please put the gun down," Rin begged.

Giving in, Len sighed and put the gun back into his belt. Rin stumbled into his arms and he caught her, steadying her back into an upright position. He kept one arm around her waist to help her remain standing.

"Hey guys," Neru greeted, a huge smile plastered on her face as she approached them. She felt Len tense. "It's good to see you're not dead. I was so sure you would be. Oh well! Looks like I'll just have to kill you myself!"

Neither of the twins reacted for a moment, stunned by her words. A gun they hadn't seen before appeared into Neru's hand. Len reached for his own, but Neru was quicker.

"I wouldn't do that," she warned, smiling as she pointed the gun towards Rin's head. Len stopped his motion. "Good boy. Now, why don't you throw that gun on the floor and kick it over here?" He obeyed, his eyes never leaving Neru's as he did. Neru picked up the gun and stuffed it behind her.

"Now who should I kill first?" Her eyes flicked between the twins with amusement. She laughed maniacally, chilling Rin's blood and sending a shiver up her spine. Neru must've lost it. She would never kill someone.

"I'll do you the favor of killing you first, Len," Neru finally decided. Rin glanced at Len, who's expression remained cold and hard. Were they really going to die here?

"Neru, you don't ha-" Rin began. Neru's smile faded as she glared angrily at Rin. In three steps, there was a gun pushing up against the bottom of her jaw, Neru's face pulled in close to her own.

"Why don't you just shut up?!" Neru yelled, her entire hand shaking as she pressed the gun harder against Rin's soft skin. Rin didn't dare breath, afraid to set her off again. "It's not like you had to watch anybody die! You had Len to protect you the whole time! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WATCH ANYBODY FUCKING DIE! YOU DON'T EVEN GET IT! YOU DESERVE TO JUST ROT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE! I DESERVE TO WIN! NOT YOU! NOT ANYBODY ELSE! ME! SO SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH AND LET ME KILL YOU IN PEA-" A gun shot sounded, cutting off her final words.

The gun in Neru's hand dropped from Rin's chin. She fell to her knees and coughed blood onto the floor, clutching at her side. Rin looked to Len, who now held the gun Neru had taken. He had grabbed it and shot her in the side while she'd been distracted. She stared at her brother wide-eyed, wondering how he could do that, how he could simply pull the trigger on a friend. Neru hadn't been like the others; she'd been crazy, but she'd still been very much alive. Len flat-out killed her.

But, staring at his face, she could see that he wasn't remorseless. After all, Len wasn't a cold-blooded murderer, and that was his friend writhing on the floor, bleeding to death. His gaze was fixed on Neru, his face frozen into a look of horror at what he'd done. Of course, he hadn't had much of a choice, but that didn't make it easier to accept he'd killed a friend. He didn't move, and Rin understood that he wouldn't be able to think clearly right now. She was the one who needed to handle the situation.

Rin pulled out of Len's tight hold and weakly walked to the back pack. It was packed. All she had to do was refill a bottle and stuff it with the others. Len was still stricken, staring wide-eyed at their now-dead friend.

"Len," Rin called out gently when she was near him again. His eyes slowly turned to look at her, always with that same expression. "Len, let's go, okay?" He nodded, sadness washing over his face in an instant. His eyes filled with tears, and she saw he was trying to suppress them.

"C-can you walk?" Len asked, his voice trembling.

"I'll be fine. Let's go," Rin said, unsure if her statement was entirely true.

He nodded again and took the backpack from her. He grabbed hold of her waist to help her walk, but she knew that wasn't the only reason. It was times like this that Len would be completely lost without his sister. Though without her twin, Rin would be completely lost as well.


	22. Chapter 22: Friends

_Hey! I have no idea when was the last time I updated, but I don't think it was that long ago... Was it? I really can't remember :3 I suppose it doesn't really matter. Either way, here's a brand new chapter! *Slow, sarcastic clap* Sorry it's so short... Well, I guess that just means the next one will come even faster, right? Well, anyway, enjoy. OH! I almost forgot; leave a review :3_

**Chapter 22: Friends**

Gakupo, Luka and Meiko had been walking for quite some time without anything happening. Luka was on edge, knowing something bad was bound to happen anytime soon. However, without Neru's cellphone, they would have no warning.

Luka's thoughts often drifted to the twins. She wondered about their fate. She had no way to tell if they were still alive or not. She also wondered about the murderer. He or she could very well be dead, but if he or she wasn't, it would have to be one of them. She trusted Gakupo, so her suspicions inevitably were thrown on Meiko. Luka knew she was being silly and jumping to conclusions, but her fear overcame logic and she couldn't help but feel afraid.

And like she predicted, something did happen. Something rather gruesome.

"What the…" Meiko muttered. The three of them stopped short, their eyes widening in shock. "Is that…" Meiko continued.

Luka took hold of Gakupo's hand and squeezed it tightly as she tried not to throw up.

"Oh, God," Gakupo mumbled, averting his eyes from the mess in front of them.

What they'd stumbled upon was what was left of Haku. She'd been torn into two pieces, and one piece sat on each side of the hallway. The area was drenched with what was most likely her blood. Her guts had been scattered around here and there all over the floor; it was a disgusting mess. But that wasn't all; on the ground, a message was written in big, red letters, mostly likely recycling Haku's blood and using it as a writing tool. It was something they'd seen before and the words sent a chill down Luka's spine.

_The Game is coming to an end._

.

.

.

Len and his sister got as far away from Neru as they could before Rin became too weak to stand. So they took a break and Rin slept while Len tried to get over what he'd done.

He was in shock; he couldn't believe he pulled the trigger. But he did. On Neru, no less. Now she was dead, and it was his fault. He took somebody's _life. _And he'd been perfectly aware of what he'd been doing. He was a monster. A cold-blooded, heartless _murderer. _A tear slid down his cheek and fell into his hands.

His hands. Neru's blood was on his hands. Figuratively speaking, of course. Len could feel the guilt gripping his heart, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out. But he couldn't let that happen. He needed to stay sane, at least until Rin was safe. Maybe after that he would repent for his sin.

More tears fell down his face and Len, abandoning his careful composure, sobbed quietly into his arms, his legs curled up to his chest. He was glad Rin wasn't awake to see him like this, broken and weak. He did crave her comfort, but he didn't deserve it right now, though he knew she would know just what to say to make his tears stop.

After what seemed like an eternity of crying, Len finally tried to compose himself, regaining control of his being. He reloaded Rin's handgun and shoved it back into his belt. Then, he pulled out their first-aid kit to do maintenance on Rin's arm. Without waking her, he freed the limb of its bandages, cleaned it up and then wrapped it again. Rin began stirring and he took the opportunity to wake her.

"Rin, wake up," Len said quietly, gently shaking her shoulders. She opened her eyes, still sticky with sleep, and looked at him with the dazed expression of a person who just woke up. He gave her some water as she slowly chased her sleepiness away and within a few minutes, they were ready to go.

Like before, Len kept one arm around Rin's waist to keep her steady as they walked. He noted that she seemed a little bit stronger than before, which was a good sign that she was recovering. Of course, they still hadn't won the battle, but things were looking up for once.

At that exact moment, Rin shrieked and shrunk back against her brother, startling him. He glanced around frantically, his hand automatically lowering to his weapon as he looked for the thing that had frightened her. He saw it; behind another one of those godforsaken windows.

"Oh, God," Len mumbled with disgust as he took a step back as well, his arm unconsciously tightening around Rin.

Teto was strapped down to the table in the room, clearly dead. Practically every inch of her body was covered in blood, her eyes rolled back into her sockets. On the floor beside her was a little, red, oval mass. Len had a sickening feeling he knew what it was. His stomach churned dangerously at the thought.

"Let's get out of here," Len muttered, Rin nodding eagerly against him.

As Len turned to leave with his sister, Teto's body crystallized exactly the same way Miki's had. The twins stared stunned at the phenomena they were witnessing for the second time. Like before, little black crystals covered their dead friend. Again, the little shards exploded outwards and literally vanished into thin air, along with all the evidence of Teto's time there. All that was left was a table and a very large blood stain.

"What the hell?" Rin said, trembling.

Len was stricken and puzzled. "It's like the crystals are a way to get rid of the body," Len muttered to himself.

Rin looked at him. "Why would they let us see that?"

"I have no idea," Len answered. "Maybe it's another way to scare us. I don't know. Let's just go."

They quickly continued their way. Len wondered what had happened, but came up blank; he'd never seen anything like it before. But, the question that was bothering him most was who had brought them to this place in the first place. He also wondered how this area was created; nothing here made any sense half the time. Some of the technology they had were things he didn't even know were possible. Like Lily, who still crawled around despite being dead. Or the mechanical arm that had grabbed Rin's leg.

"Do you think that the person who put us in here is one of our friends?" Rin wondered aloud.

Len thought about it seriously before answering. "It's possible, but I don't think so. None of our friends would have the resources or the technology to build something like this. At least, not that I know of. It was most likely someone else. Someone with more connections and more power. What I don't get is why?"

"Maybe it's some kind of science experiment," Rin offered.

Len shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't really care. All I want is to get you out. Once we do that, I'll track down one way or another the sons of bitches who killed our friends."

"Really?" Rin said doubtfully. "How do you expec- oh my God." Rin stopped mid-sentence, staring in front of her.

Len followed her gaze. Something was smothered against the wall. Something human. If it wasn't for the blood-soaked hair, he never would have recognized it to be Ia. Her body was so badly mangled; half of it was crushed against the wall, some pieces gathered at her non-existent feet. The other half was crumpled onto a mountain of blood and guts. Len wondered idly how it was possible for her two have been crushed like that; there was nothing around that could have done that.

He wanted to turn around. If it wasn't for the door that was just a little ways past the goop that was Ia, he wouldn't have hesitated. But now, it was imperative that they get to the door; it was most likely an exit out of the hospital. He moved towards it, averting his gaze from the jelly on the wall and floor.

"Len! What are you doing?" Rin screeched, trying to break out of his hold.

"Door," Len explained, pointing at the object in question. Rin stopped fighting, her eyes following his finger. She bit her lip and then allowed him to drag her behind him. Len kept her on the side away from Ia, trying his best to block her view of their mangled friend.

Len pulled open the door and rushed Rin through, eagerly shutting the door behind himself. He was relieved to be out. Unfortunately, it wasn't over for them yet; from not too far in front of them came a somewhat human sob.


	23. Chapter 23: Gumi

_Hey! So, to make up for the short chapter that was chapter 22, I made this one longer than the others. Not that much longer, but hey! Better than nothing, right? To be honest, I didn't do it on purpose; it just sort of happened. Whatever. A part of this was written on the plane. The rest was written on Mars. That is not a joke. O_O Okay, yes it is. Anyway, read the chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Leave a review too. That would be nice XD_

**Chapter 23: Gumi**

"That is just… disgusting," Meiko commented with disdain as she pulled out a knife and poked at Haku's remains with the blade. Luka wrinkled her nose with disgust and averted her eyes. Gakupo remained crouched in front of the message, studying it carefully as he ignored Meiko's gruesome remarks. Luka stood in place, glancing around the gory mess that was the hall, feeling useless, but not wanting to desecrate Haku in the same fashion as Meiko.

Finally, Gakupo came out of his reverie and stood up. Meiko, bored with her disturbing game, also stood to join him.

"Done staring like a moron?" Meiko asked with a hint of annoyance.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Gakupo answered, his voice sarcastic and mocking. "Done poking like a psychopath?"

Luka rolled her eyes and interjected before a fight broke out. "So what do we do now?"

Gakupo glanced at Meiko, as if daring her to speak. Luckily, she said nothing, and Gakupo answered Luka's question. "Nothing."

Meiko snorted as Luka threw him a puzzled look. "Nothing?" Luka said, concerned. "We can't do _nothing_."

"That's not what I meant," Gakupo corrected himself. "We keep going and keep looking for an exit. Besides that, there isn't much we can do. Haku's dead, and cleaning her up would only waste time pointlessly. If this 'game' suddenly got bored and decided to kill us, we clearly would have no say in its decision, so let's just get out of here before that happens."

A heavy silence feel upon the trio as they each contemplated Gakupo's words and their own helplessness. Until now, Luka hadn't really realized exactly how powerless she was against the 'game'. If it decided to kill her, there wasn't anything she could do. She wasn't in charge of her own fate.

_That's not entirely true, _Luka thought. _If I killed them, I'd have a better chance at winning… _Luka shook her head, scolding herself for even considering it. What was wrong with her?

"Okay, let's go," Luka declared, leaving the mess of blood and guts behind as the others followed closely. But she couldn't help contemplating how easy it would be to just off them when they weren't expecting it.

.

.

.

Len heard enough sobs in the past couple days to know they never meant anything good. It was human, that much he could tell, and it tugged at his heartstrings, though he didn't let that get his guard down. Sobs never meant anything good. _Especially _when they came from another person.

So, out came the gun. Len moved towards the sound carefully, Rin hot on his heels, trying to see who it was through the darkness. Finally, he found someone. The person was hunched into a ball a little bit less than ten feet in front of him. The body shook in time with the sobs. The sad figure was pitiful and a wave of sadness washed over Len as he approached it. He couldn't tell who it was through the darkness yet, but he was almost certain it was a female. She didn't seem to have noticed his presence yet.

As he came closer, Len recognized the distinct green hair. It was Gumi. He stopped moving, and Rin copied him. She didn't say anything, though he knew she was aware of who was on the floor in front of them. She had every intention of letting him handle the situation, which he was grateful for.

"Gumi?" Len called out softly, not wanting to scare their friend into a panic frenzy. He wasn't sure of her level of sanity yet, and it was imperative that he assessed that.

Gumi stopped sobbing and he saw her body tense. "Hello?" she answered, obviously terrified.

"Gumi, it's Len."

"Len," Gumi repeated. Her voice quivered as she spoke, but he heard a hint of relief in it. She sat up but didn't turn around. "I-I'm really g-glad you're a-alive. H-how's R-rin?" She sounded sincere and Len decided that Gumi wasn't like Neru and had no intention of murdering them. But still, he had a nagging feeling something was wrong and he really needed to know what.

"I'm fine," Rin answered kindly, following her brother's lead.

"T-that's g-good." She had a smile in her voice, though it shook insanely.

"Gumi," Len began hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer at first, but then broke down into sobs again, her words blending together until they didn't make sense anymore. All Len heard was her asking for help. He motioned for Rin not to move and put his gun back in his belt before taking a step towards his friend.

"NO!" Gumi cried, covering her face. Len froze. "Please," she whispered. "Don't look at me. Just kill me. Please." Len's eyes widened at her request. She was begging him for death?

"I need to know what happened," Len answered. "Let me see your face."

Gumi shook her head. "Please Len. It hurts and I can't do it myself. I'm a coward. I'm begging you. Kill me." Her voice was surprisingly stable.

"Gumi." He didn't need to say anything else; he knew Gumi would understand he couldn't just kill her without knowing why, assuming he _could_ even if he knew.

She didn't react at first, but then nodded and tried to stand up. She stumbled, her injured leg not yet ready to carry her weight. Len moved swiftly towards her to help her stand. Rin came from behind them and threw Len a worried looked. Gumi turned around to allow them a good look at her face.

She was blind now. Two knives were stuck in her sockets with dried up blood on the blades and on her skin around them. Red tears stained her cheeks as they flowed from the place her eyes used to be. Len was momentarily taken aback by the sight, but then composed himself, reminding himself that it was Gumi, a friend.

Gumi sobbed, clutching tightly at Len's arm. "Look at me. Look at my face. I can't see anything and I'm so scared. It hurts. Please kill me."

"Shh, don't be scared," Len said reassuringly. "We're here now."

Gumi nodded and let Len lead her away from the wall and further down the hall. After he judged they were far enough from the door, Len stopped them and sat Gumi down. He kneeled in front of her.

"Gumi, you were with the others," he began. "What happened to everyone else?"

She cried at the memory. "It was horrible. Neru got messages on her phone, and someone died or disappeared after every single one. And then one of us started murdering the others to win, but we had no idea who." Her tears were flowing more freely now. "And Ia… Oh my God, it was all my fault!"

At the mention of Ia, Len had a flash of the crushed body against the wall and quickly shoved the image out of his head, trying to linger only in the most important details. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but both Gumi and Neru mentioned that a lot of them had died. And the things him and Rin had seen confirmed that. Len didn't really care about the details, but there were a couple things that he needed to know.

"How many are left?" he asked, almost not wanting to hear. Gumi didn't respond immediately.

"I'm not sure," she answered. "Six, I think. You, me, Rin, Luka, Meiko and Gakupo. I'm not sure if Neru and Haku are alive, but something happened to them so they're probably dead. But Luka, Meiko or Gakupo could have died after they left me here."

Len frowned at that. They left Gumi here? Injured? He tried to rationalize their decision; she was injured and would slow them down. Survival of the fittest, right? He still didn't like the idea. It really didn't matter anymore though. Something else was nagging Len.

"Are you sure you don't know who the murderer is?" Len asked. Gumi didn't answer but then started sobbing. She knew. "Who is it, Gumi?" Len was firm, but kind. She calmed down a little before answering.

"We just left the hospital when Neru got another message. Haku was helping me walk, and then the floor disappeared and she fell. I couldn't stand up without her, much less catch her. Gakupo screamed for help because Neru fell through the floor. Meiko screamed something, and then Luka did too, but I couldn't hear anything over Haku's scream. Then someone picked me up and dragged me away. I couldn't fight back," Gumi explained, tears escaping from behind the knives in her eyes. "T-they stabbed m-my eyes a-and then l-left. I p-passed out. When I w-woke up, I was a-alone."

Len pondered the story for a while. The murderer was Meiko, Gakupo or Luka. He instantly ruled out Luka; she would never kill anyone. Meiko was a very real possibility; she had always stricken Len as slightly psychotic. Len wasn't sure if Gakupo would kill or not; Len didn't rule him out, but Meiko was definitely a more likely candidate.

"It's got to be Meiko," Len told Rin and Gumi. Rin gave him a worried look, but Gumi said nothing.

"We should go now," Len continued. "Rin do you feel well enough to walk on your own?" She nodded. "Good. I'll help Gumi walk."

Gumi shook her head. "N-no. I'm n-not going w-with you."

"We can't just leave you hear," Len replied.

Though she didn't have eyes, Len could still feel the meaningful look she was giving him.

"I don't think I can do it," Len whispered. Rin looked at them worriedly, knowing what Gumi was silently asking Len to do.

"Please Len," Gumi begged quietly.

Len gave a shaky nod and pulled out the gun. He held it against her head, his hand trembling. He took a deep breath that did nothing to calm his shaking. Rin placed her hand the gun.

"Let me do it," Rin offered. She was trying to be brave for him, but he could tell she was afraid. Len shook his head.

"You don't want this kind of blood on your hands he answered." Rin nodded, pulling her hand away. Len looked at Gumi, who wasn't crying anymore.

"Are you sure?" Len asked, straining to keep his voice steady. She nodded gravely. Len shut his eyes and slowly squeezed the trigger until he heard the booming noise of a gunshot rifle through the air. He heard Gumi slump down to the ground. He felt tears well up into his eyes and tried to fight them off. But they slipped down his cheeks anyway as he turned away and looked at Rin. Her eyes were soft and sad.

"Len," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. He crushed her in his arms, crying into her hair silently. She pressed herself against his chest, rubbing his back soothingly.

"It's okay," she whispered into his ear. "She was in pain. It's better this way."

Len allowed himself to be comforted by her words and her presence, letting his tears flow freely down his face. Rin pulled away and took his face into her hands, kissing the tears on his cheeks. She then leaned her forehead onto his. He closed his eyes as he wrapped her hands into his.

"It'll be okay Len," Rin promised. "We'll make it through."


	24. Chapter 24: Gear

_Hey! Sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long! But, here's the next chapter I promised. So, I just realized that I haven't thanked ANYONE in ANY of my chapters, and now I feel kinda bad. So here goes: Thank you to every reviewer and to all my followers ( I sound like the leader of a cult...) Also, thank you to everyone who favorited this. You guys are pretty damn awesome X3 I promise to try not taking so long with the next chapter. So anyway, enjoy this. Leave a nice review too, you'll probably get a reply XD Until next time!_

_- Len_

**Chapter 24: Gear**

The room was huge. Huge as in gigantic. Luka didn't think she'd ever been in a bigger room before. The darkness that had served as a ceiling hung high above their heads, making the odd, blue-green walls tower on either side. The floor was wider here, stretching at least thirty feet across. The gigantic hall continued further, losing itself in the darkness and making it's length indeterminable. As if the sheer size wasn't impressive enough, something else made the room different; sound.

On either side of the room, the floor had been cut a good ten feet before it reached the wall. In those parts, it had been replaced with gears so that their were two pits of gears on either side of the hall. The gears stood vertically, some set lower than floor level, some set only a tad higher. Each gear was placed closely to the one beside it, making it impossible to slip between the gears and towards whatever was underneath them, assuming it wasn't simply more gears. Those bits of machinery were the source of the sound; the sounds of scraping metal and creaking hinges filled the room. After so long of hearing only quiet and footsteps with the occasional screams, this kind of mundane factory noise was strange.

Luka felt a conflicting sense of relief and fear; relief because something was finally different, and fear because she recognized the danger the gears could represent. She shuddered at the thought of being pushed in and grinded like ground beef. It made her stomach heave. She pushed it away and tried to look on the bright side.

They hadn't passed a door, which meant they weren't in another type of setting like the slaughterhouse and the hospital. More proof was the shine emanating from nowhere, the futuristic walls and the black ceiling. They were still in the never-ending halls. But things were different; here, there was noise, and there was _something. _In all the other halls aside from the one they'd woken up in, there had been nothing. Now, the room was about five times bigger and there were gears embedded into the floor. Something was different.

Luka felt a shimmer of hope and tried to ignore it. Since the only other hall that had something in it had been the beginning, maybe the fact that there was something here meant this room was the end. Maybe they'd won and beaten the game.

"Do you think we won?" Gakupo said, voicing Luka's thoughts. He sounded dazed and disbelieving. Of course, Meiko was the one who came to rain down on the party.

"Probably not. Only one person can win, and there's still three of us alive. Considering what we've seen, I doubt we're gonna be let off the hook that easily. The game's probably just waiting to finish us off." Meiko gave a short, humorless laugh before a frown settled onto her face.

"Whatever. Let's just keep moving," Luka muttered, starting into the hallway. She made sure to stay in the middle of the path that lead through the threatening gears. She couldn't explain why, but looking at them made her break out into a cold sweat. She couldn't understand why she was so terrified of them. She also had the nagging feeling that something really bad was going to happen. She felt like she was walking towards her own death. Perhaps she wasn't far from the truth. In fact, she was certain she was spot on.

.

.

.

Blood. There had been blood everywhere, dripping out of the hole he'd put in Gumi's head, willingly nonetheless. She had crumpled to the floor, bathing in her own fucking _blood. _Why the hell did he do that? _How _the hell could he have done that? There was something wrong with him. And as much as he wanted to protect his sister, he wished he could just die.

Len squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the images, but they kept haunting him. They were burned into his brain, and it was impossible to ignore them. He could see the blood, the hair, tormenting him, driving him nuts. He didn't know how much more he could handle.

Len opened his eyes, staring at the gun in his hands he had subconsciously pulled out. One bullet was all it would take. He deserved it anyway. But what about Rin? Who would protect her else than him? No, he shouldn't be with Rin any longer. He was tainted. Sinful. It would be better if he offed himself. The world didn't need anymore murdering monsters. It had enough without him.

"You did what you had to," Rin said quietly, placing her hand on the gun. Len had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized she'd been awake. She stared at the weapon sadly.

"It doesn't make it fair," Len whispered, turning the hunk of metal over in his palm.

Rin looked at him, her eyes concerned and sad. "Len, you were helping her. So, you shouldn't..." She bit her lip. "You shouldn't kill yourself for that."

There was no point in trying to hide it. She already guessed what he'd been pondering about.

"I killed two people, Rin," Len tried to explain, straining against his tears. "And I knew exactly what I was doing. I shouldn't be alive."

Rin pried the gun from his fingers and set it aside gently. She climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her ear against his chest, right above his heart.

"This is one of my favorite sound in the whole world. I will not let you destroy it. No matter what you think, Len, all you did was help. It's not your fault if we ended up here and everything went to shit. You did your best, and that's the reason I'm still alive. What happened with the others has nothing to do with you." She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. "If you can't do it for yourself, than do it for me. I still need you."

Len fought his tears. He didn't deserve her, or anything that she'd just said. But she was right; Rin needed him, and he wasn't about to forsake his twin because of his own self pity. He had committed enough sin.

Rin ran her hand through his hair. "Crying doesn't make you weak, Len. Sometimes it's better to just really let it out." As always, Rin could see right through him. For a moment he stared at her, his eyes swimming before giving up. His heart was aching, desperate to be relieved, and he couldn't refused the opportunity. His arm wove around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. He buried his face into her hair and sobbed.

It wasn't just him slipping a few tears. They pooled down his face, soaking his cheeks and Rin's shirt. His whole body shook violently under the power of his sobs. And he couldn't stop himself. All he could do was hold onto Rin and tremble. His heart-wrenching cries filled the hall as he tried to cope with what he'd done. Rin's arms tightened around him and he closed his eyes, allowing to loose himself in his pain and let it out. His heart felt like it would crumble, but he didn't fight it; he was tired of fighting.

Rin whispered comforting words in his ear, but he didn't hear, too lost in sadness to do anything but take comfort in the sound of her voice. How long this continued, he didn't know. But after a while, his body became exhausted and his throat was sore from his sobs and pained screams. He began to calm himself, mostly because his chest was tired of crying. Rin started pulling for him to lie down and he numbly allowed her to, not having the will to fight her.

"Sleep now," she whispered. He obeyed, closing his eyes and tightening his arm around Rin's waist. Her presence beside him was soothing, and he allowed himself to enjoy it. Rin's hands were fists against his chest and her head was stuffed in his neck. His breathing slowed and he became drowsy, his eyes sore from tears. He was dimly aware of Rin kissing his jawline before sleep claimed him. He welcomed it with open arms, almost wishing he would never wake up.

.

.

.

_A loud bang sounded. Len's eyes snapped open at the sound. He was vaguely aware that he was dreaming, yet everything felt so real, he couldn't be entirely sure. Suddenly, his mind registered a hot liquid on his hands. He looked at them; blood. Lots of blood. His eyes widened as his gaze sweeped the room for the source. Said source was right in front of him. Shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes that mirrored his own... Rin was the one emptying her veins._

_"NO!" Len screamed, crawling to her. "NO! Rin, oh God, no!" He took her wrist and felt for her pulse, in vain. She was dead, her eyes glazed over with the pale color of death, her body limp and her skin deathly white. "NO!" And then Len blacked out._


	25. Chapter 25: Unknown

_Hey! Next chapter! I know my updates are coming pretty... slowly, but I'm trying. I just have a lot of stuff going on right now. Not story-wise, just... life-wise... sort of. But anyway, enjoy this chapter and leave a review!_

**Chapter 25: Unknown**

Len woke up, feeling a cold sweat on his face. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was. Slowly, the confusing cleared and images of his dead sister flashed in his mind. His heart rate increased ten-fold as he slowly began to panic. Then, a small sound caught his attention; Rin breathed against his neck, very much alive in the warm craddle of his arms. He sighed in relief.

_Just a dream, _he told himself. _It was just a dream. _Rin stirred lightly in her sleep, and Len tightened his arms around her, nuzzling his face in her hair. She sighed in content, settling down, going back to the depths of a deep sleep. Len sat there, waiting for her to wake up. It gave him some time to think, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to think. But he knew he had to; there was too much inner turmoil he had to settle.

First and foremost, he needed to come to terms with what he'd done to two of his friends. Neru, he could forgive himself; it still pained him to think about it, but not for the reason he would've thought; he was upset about everything Neru must've seen to end up like she did, not the fact he'd killed her. It was a lot like what Rin had been obliged to do to Lily. True, he'd had quite a shock at first, blaming himself, but she'd been so far gone, she hadn't really been Neru anymore. It's not like he thought it was best that she was dead, but he'd done it to protect himself and Rin. For that reason, he could forgive himself for shooting Neru.

But with Gumi, it just wasn't the same. Sure, she'd been injured and in pain, but at least she'd still been Gumi. Perfectly saine, and harmless. She hadn't threatened to kill them; in fact, she'd been genuinely pleased to know that they were safe. How could he forgive himself for killing someone who'd cared about them? And the fact that she asked him to do it wasn't an excuse.

Len sighed, smiling slightly. Before he fell asleep, he'd been thinking exactly the same thing, only then he'd also been contemplating suicide. Now, although he still felt horrible, he didn't feel the same urgent need to end his life. Crying in Rin's arms – well, more like crying _with _Rin in hisarms – had helped a lot. He decided not to focus on the issue of his crimes anymore; it wasn't particularly the most important thing right now.

Gumi said all the messages on Neru's phone announced someone's death. That meant it was probably safe to assume whatever it said was true, and somehow prophetic, as stupid as it sounded. He thought back to the first message they'd ever received.

_Welcome to the Game, my friends! It has already begun. Prepare yourself and never hesitate to strike down your friends, because in the end, only one of you can win._

He thought it was odd that the game referred to itself with a capital G, like it was a person. Perhaps the name of the game was literally 'the Game'? Not that it really mattered. But something about that still bugged him for some reason. The people behind this game really knew how to put him on edge with the most trivial kind of thing.

Len found himself wondering once again who would have made such a horrible game where they pitched friends against each other to the extent that they would actually consider killing another. Really, what kind of sick mind would do that? Well, obviously their plan to make them turn against each other worked, since Neru decided to kill them to win. Len assumed the murderer – most likely Meiko – was killing off their friends' for the same reason. But then again, Meiko was naturally insane.

Something else about the messages was nagging Len. So far, it was obvious they could predict someone's death. But that was the only truth that had been confirmed so far. The first message was sent as a presentation and, now that he thought about it, also the warning of Kaito's death. The thing he wasn't sure about was whether _everything _was true, or just the parts about people dying.

Len never really thought about the part where only one could win, because he'd always figured him and Rin would beat the game and get out alive. Looking at it now, a feeling of dread settled in his stomach; the messages never lied. Logically, that would mean everything it said was true, and only one could win. It could be just a way to scare them, to break the trust that used to link them, but if the game wanted to, it could easily kill everyone until only one was left. Besides, why would everything be true except for that one part? It just didn't make sense.

It was undeniable; only Rin could win. He realized now that he'd never done anything in the game for his own sake. From the very beginning, his mindset was to make sure Rin would win, not him. Trying to win had never even really occurred to him. He just didn't care about that. Even now, knowing he'd have to die in the end, it didn't matter. Rin would always be his priority. He was afraid, yes – how could he not, staring death in the face – but his resolve didn't waver. In a way, his subconscious had accepted that he would die long before his conscious had even realized it.

There was one thing that could get in the way; Rin. Both cared about the other far more than ordinary siblings. He hadn't had much time to think about his and Rin's relationship, but he knew now that she loved him in a non-sisterly way. He also knew she wouldn't win the game knowing the price it would cost. That meant he couldn't tell her. He'd have to do it when she wasn't looking, when she wouldn't be able to stop him. But first, he had to make sure she would be the only one left alive. Which meant he might have to kill more people.

He quickly shoved that out of his mind. He would not think about it. He would just do it when the time came. That left only one thing pestering him; the black crystals. Out of all the things he'd seen that was the strangest. He didn't even know how that was possible. Bodies just didn't get covered in black crystals like that, much less vanish into thin air. He'd seen it happen twice; once with Miki and once with Teto. They'd both been dead and Len had absolutely no idea what they were for. Originally, he'd thought it was for the disposal of the bodies, but he couldn't confirm that because he's only seen it happen twice. Every time someone had died, they hadn't stuck around long enough to see if it would happen again. Miki had been almost instant, and Teto had been a stroke of luck.

Whatever it was, he suspected the game of purposely showing him the phenomena only twice so that he would be kept in doubt. It had complete control over the entire area, and if it hadn't wanted him to see it, it could have easily avoided it. But it didn't, instead allowing him to watch his friends explode and vanish. But what were they for? What did they do? His cluelessness frustrated him.

Len forced himself out of his thoughts and back to the present, knowing thinking about the black crystals would do nothing but anger him further. He analyzed their situation; not that there was much to analyze. They were back in the familiar halls and still had no idea where they were going. The only thing they could do was continue moving and hope that they'd find where this place ended. Besides, they'd stayed in this area too long; it was time to go before the game decided to force them to leave.

He shook Rin awake; she grunted and resisted but finally stood up when he insisted. Len gathered the backpack, Rin watching him with tired eyes. She was still half-asleep as they began walking again, but the fogginess of her mind soon cleared.

"Do you think we might run into them?" Rin asked. "Luka, Gakupo and Meiko, I mean," she added when he gave her a puzzled look.

Len hadn't thought of that. "I hope not," he answered. "One of them might try to kill us. I honestly think it's best if the game finishes them off." He knew he was coming off as rather cold, but what could he say? If they did find them, he'd have to either watch them die or kill them himself. Neither of which was something he actually wanted to do.

Rin didn't answer, but he could feel that she more or less agreed with him to a certain extent, though it made her uncomfortable. Len felt a pang in his heart too, but he ignored it; lingering on unpleasant things only made him bitter and depressed, so honestly, what was the point? A heavy silence settled between them, the sound of their footsteps doing nothing to lighten it. For a while, Len let it stretch on, but soon, the quiet drove him mad and he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"So, what do you think those black crystals were?" he asked, wishing he could take it back as soon as the words left his mouth. So much for not thinking about it anymore.

Rin looked at him with a frown before answering. "I don't know."

Len let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He felt disappointed. What had he been expecting? Irritation slowly crept up on him again as his mind tried to find an explanation for the phenomena that shouldn't be possible. He tried to think of something else, in vain; his thoughts kept wandering back to the same questions, sending him on an endless loop that held no answers.

"What's that?" Rin demanded, worry in her voice. Len snapped his head up, jerked out of his thoughts, and tried peering through the darkness to see what it was Rin was pointing at.

Something was on the floor, but he couldn't tell what it was through the darkness. Only a faint shape was discernible. He couldn't even describe what the shape was; it didn't look like anything he'd seen before.

"I have no idea," he finally answered. "I'll go check it out."


	26. Chapter 26: Meiko

_I have no idea what happened, but I just finished another chapter already, for some reason. O_O So, this is a really fast update. BUT DON'T EXPECT EVERY CHAPTER TO BE THIS FAST, OKAY! THIS IS A SPECIAL OCCASION FOR 'NERU'S' BIRTHDAY! Not actually (though it is her birthday). It was just a coincidence... I'm not that nice XD Anyway, enjoy this chapter and leave a review X3_

**Chapter 26: Meiko**

Gakupo was still in awe over what he was seeing. The tall black ceiling, the giant gears on either side of the floor, the sound of machinery. He gaped at the decor, wondering how and why someone built something like this. As they picked their way along the centre of the path leading through the gears, Gakupo wasn't done being amazed.

Instead, he inched his way closer to the edge, wanting to see the gears closer, to see if it was literally a pit of those bits of metal. He was distracted and didn't take notice of his two companions; he was caught up in curiosity. Peering down, Gakupo shuddered at the danger the gears could represent; if someone were to fall in there...

It was Luka's scream the snapped him out of his wonder-induced haze. Gakupo whirled around and there she was; at the edge of the gears, like him, only on the other side of the path. She was clutching her head and trying to back away, but for some reason, she kept moving closer to the edge instead. It took a moment for Gakupo to realize why; her hair was caught in a gear.

"Luka!" he screamed, rushing to her.

Within seconds of assessing the danger, Gakupo was already at the pinkette's side, trying to slash her hair off with his sword. It almost worked; by the time he'd finally cut the hair, it was too late and Luka, loosing her balance, fell straight into the pit.

"Fuck," Gakupo hissed, kneeling down as he reached for her hand.

"H-help!" Luka screamed, struggling to stand without getting caught between two gears. But the gears relentless movements made it impossible for her to regain her balance on the uneven ground.

"Take my fucking hand!" Gakupo commanded.

Luka did as she was told, but in that one moment of distraction, she lost all control. The gear spun, and her reflexes, which were a second too slow, failed to react in time; her foot got caught between two spinning wheels of metal before she could pull it away.

Luka screamed in agony as she gripped Gakupo's hand. But Gakupo didn't have the presence of mind to pull at that exact moment; even if he had, it wouldn't have made a difference; Luka was caught, and that was practically a promise of a horrible and painful death. Gakupo didn't let go, but didn't pull either, only capable of staring at the blood gushing from the juncture of Luka's foot and the two gears.

"G-Gaku-" She didn't finish cutting herself off with another scream. The gears' rotation slowed, but didn't stop, crushing higher up her foot and just above her ankle. Bit of shattered bone spilled with the blood as the gears' teeth continued their endless rotation, now painted crimson red. Luka tried to kick herself away, but succeeded only in getting her second foot trapped in the deadly grasp of the gears.

"L-luka," Gakupo whispered, wide-eyed as he stared at the horrendous show.

She didn't hear him, struggling frantically as panicked and tortured sobs escaped her throat. The gears ground higher, splintering her femurs apart as they cracked sickeningly. Skin and bone was utterly shredded, leaving behind nothing but blood and small bits of flesh. Luka screamed in pain, struggling to free herself as the entirety of her legs were crushed to nothingness.

Gakupo stared, horror-stricken. Luka's fingers caught in the gears and disappeared in an instant, her hand and wrist following soon after. Suddenly, Gakupo realized he was still holding onto Luka's free hand, and that he was leaning precariously over the edge; as Luka's body was practically eaten by the gears, Gakupo was forced to lean forward more and more. If he held on longer, he would fall in himself.

Luka screamed again, but it ended in a gurgle, red splashing out of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back as her stomach disappeared and her ribs began cracking. They were crushed with splintering noises, the movements of the gears becoming more jerky as they struggled to crush her chest and torso. Gakupo let go numbly, only half-there as his other-half stayed firmly in the realm of disbelief. Blood sprayed up, staining Gakupo's knees and the edge of the path, the droplets landing with wet splashes. There was almost nothing left now, only the head and a part of the arm. But soon, they were gone too and all that was left was two blood-soaked gears.

For a moment, Gakupo didn't move, staring in shock with his arms hanging limply at his sides. Slowly, he stood up, unable to rip his gaze away from the blood. His thoughts were sluggish, swirling around in his head as his mind remained in denial. This couldn't be happening. It just _couldn't._

_Exactly, _Gakupo realized with a start, recovering quickly from his numb state with this new development. Luka was a smart girl. She would have been careful around the gears, so how did her hair get caught in it? How did _that _happen? There was always the possibility of an unfortunate accident in a moment of distraction, but... _Meiko, _Gakupo thought with a sinking feeling. She hadn't shown up while Luka was being crushed, hadn't helped in any way.

_No way. _Gakupo shook his head, staring at the floor with wide, terrified eyes. _There's just no way. _Gakupo tensed at the sound of footsteps behind him, reaching subtly for his sword. It was gone, probably dropped accidentally in the pit of gears. _Damnit, _he thought, mentally cursing himself.

"Well, have you figured it out yet?" Meiko mused. He could tell she was smirking thought he couldn't see her face.

Gakupo stayed still and quiet.

"Have you?" she whispered in his ear.

Gakupo held his breath, trying to control his fear. "It was you, wasn't it? You killed Ted and SeeU. And you did this to Luka, didn't you?"

Meiko laughed. It was the kind of laugh that sent chills down your spine, that made you shrink away. The kind of laugh people had when only half their mind was still there.

"Oh wow! I'm so proud of you!" she squealed excitedly. "But, you're missing some people." There was a sad tone in her voice, as if she were disappointed he'd forgotten someone. She lowered her voice to a chilly whisper. "Miku was the first one I let die. It was quite interesting to watch her struggle against the rope that was choking her. She deserved it, thinking she could have Kaito."

Gakupo thought back to the crazed Meiko they'd found near Miku's dead body. He shouldn't have dismissed it so easily.

She giggled before continuing. "Then there was Ted. I had nothing against Ted, but he was the best way to hurt Teto. God, I wish I could have killed her." Her voice shook with rage. "That little bitch can't hit me!"

She backed away from him, but Gakupo didn't move, staying firmly planted in front of the gears. He didn't need to see her eyes; her voice was enough to scare him, he didn't need the eyes to send him further into panic. No, what he needed was a clear head to figure out what his next move was.

"It was so fun killing Ted, I decided to try something else on SeeU!" She said it with glee, making Gakupo feel cold. "Her thick, fluffy hair was so fun to burn!"

She stopped talking for a minute. When she began again, she sounded upset, only in the way a child would when denied candy.

"I really wish Luka hadn't figured me out. Then I could have killed more people. But that's okay, she's dead now! It's a shame such long hair gets caught in things so easily."

Anger flared up in Gakupo, making him forget his fears for a moment. _This _was the one who murdered Luka. He grit his teeth hard. He would get revenge if it was the last thing he did. He was about to lash out at her, but held himself back when he realized she wasn't finished speaking.

"There was one more before Luka. Poor little Gumi." She didn't sound sorry in the least. "I really have to thank the game for giving me such a perfect opportunity to kill her without being suspiscous. She didn't even see it coming because I stabbed her eyes out!" She giggled again.

"Why?" Gakupo hissed.

"Hum?" Meiko sounded genuinely confused.

"Why did you kill them?" He struggled to contain his anger.

He felt her smile, like it was obvious. "So I can win and go find Kaito."

"Kaito's dead," Gakupo stated.

"No he's not. He's waiting for me to win." It was clear that nothing Gakupo could say or do would knock sense back into her. She was completely convinced Kaito was alive and waiting for her.

He sighed, asking his final question. "Why not just slit all our throats in our sleep? Why wait so long and risk getting caught and killed?"

She didn't answer right away, pondering the question like she herself didn't really know. And she probably didn't.

"I'm not sure," she finally answered, uncertain. "Maybe because it was fun to watch them die and to watch everyone else wallow in depression."

Gakupo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his screaming nerves, to tame his anger so he would be in control of himself. Meiko was completely insane and was probably going to try to kill him, which meant if he failed, he was dead.

"You know, you sent away the wrong people, Gakupo. You failed your duty at the very beginning. I suppose there isn't anyone left to resent you for it. And I certainly don't." Gakupo suspected she was purposely trying to provoke him, and it was working. But her words gave him an idea.

"There is someone left," he hissed, smiling humorlessly. "Rin and Len are still alive, and once they find you, they will kill you." He had no idea if it was true, but he didn't care; if it pissed her off, then it didn't really matter. He didn't know if it was a good idea to make her angry; at this point though, all he wanted to see was her angry face.

There was a chance Rin and Len were alive, and he held on to the hope they were; if anything, he could kill Meiko to insure their safety. Maybe he could make up for forsaking them under weak suspicions. It was a chance at redemption for his sin. Strengthened with this new hope, he whipped around to face Meiko.

He saw her face, but really didn't process it; his attention was solely on the gun she was holding and pointing at him. She stood out of arms' reach, her finger ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice. Gakupo froze; he'd completely forgotten she had a gun. In a hand-to-hand combat, he might have had a chance against her, even if she did have knives, but with a _gun, _there wasn't much he could do.

Meiko tilted her head, smirking wildly, her eyes cold and laughing. "Well, that was just pathetic, wasn't it?"


End file.
